Chapter 7: Ladies

"I think this is now the part where you tell us about your housecarl, Lydia; the one who followed you on your journey the since the beginning." Torygg smiled.

"You are correct, young Torygg. After the discovery of my dragon blood, I was assigned Lydia by Balgruuf to be my housecarl. At first, we weren't incredibly friendly with each other. She took her job too seriously, and I wanted to have a friendly connection to those I travelled with."

"You mean like you had with Akira?" Ronan asked. "She was the one that listened to you first, and you two did work together to slay your first dragon."

"Yes. Our immediate friendship stemmed from how I had reminded her of her mentor; a Nord warrior by the name of Askar the Great. Some time after Alduin's defeat, I had the pleasure of meeting the man, and we were pretty similar in some aspects."

"What was your connection to the Arch-Mage at the College of Winterhold?"

"Our curiosity and capacity to learn was what brought our friendship together. However, the only thing that he and the Thalmor agreed on was that Talos was not a god. At first, we tried to keep that out of conversations, but it actually took a strange trick that same stranger from Bleak Falls Barrow did to get Stryger to turn around."

"How? Was that stranger Talos?"

"No, although both he and the assassin had actually met Talos before some time after his ascension. And before you ask, my connection to the assassin was not much about business, but rather how our lives were mapped out the same. I won't get into that now because the true connection we had was seen after Alduin's defeat, and I only plan on speaking of that now."

"So what was your connection to the thief, then?" Torygg asked.

"That was a question even I had to ask myself on a regular basis. We probably had the most trouble with him than anyone else on the team. But after a few adventures together, Errick at least had the decency to come visit the manor. Not that he liked the adventuring much, but he liked the times where he could use his skills and steal from even the Thalmor during the one time near the end. I guess the one thing that was annoying about him wasn't the jokes or how he attempted to pickpocket us at times, but the fact that he damn near kept the camp up when he warmed his tent with his Breton companion. I mean, Akira and Farkas did that, too, but they had a bit of decency to place their tent some distance away. I swore, Errick slept with her next to mine and Lydia's tent intentionally just to spite me, but he probably was also trying to tell me to bed Lydia."

"Did you?"

"I guess you'll find out."

Zacharius's wife rolled her eyes in the background before he continued talking about how Errick joined the Thieves Guild.

Within Riften's sewers, Errick immediately felt like he could throw up right then and there. The smell of shit was unbearable to him, and the fact that the thieves could stand it was just repulsive. Not to mention the other inhabitants that called the place home. It reminded him too much of the last job he pulled in Cyrodiil. He spent a whole week getting the shit stain out of his suit.

Right in front of him, two Nords were arguing about how they were supposed to have a house as big as the Black-Briars by now. One had a woodcutter's axe in his hand while the other had a bow, and before Errick could say one word they immediately turned around with their weapons in their hands.

"Whoa." Errick waved his hands in defense. "Let's not get carried away, here."

The one with the woodcutter's axe threw a swing at Errick, but the thief was fast. Pulling out his needle on his right glove, he immediately stabbed it into the attacker's neck. The man went stiff for a second before he lowered his weapon. His friend with the bow tried to catch Errick's neck with the bowstring, but Errick rolled out of the way, knocking the other man to the ground before he stabbed the needle of the other glove into his fallen adversary's neck.

As Errick stood up, he shot the spent vials out of his gloves, pulling two new vials off of his belt of tricks. Once he was finished, the two men who had been injected with his special serum stood up, acting a bit more like obedient servants from Oblivion rather than human beings.

"Thank me for creating My View." Errick smiled, referring to the name he placed on his gloves. Not only were they designed for picking locks like a boss, but they were fitted with special devices that could do things like making someone an obedient servant, paralyzing a guard, making a person lose fives minutes of memory, or (if necessary) kill someone with the use of a potent poison. "Now, my little servants, you are going to lead me to the Ragged Flagon. If anyone gets in our way, feel free to let loose. The effects will only last for an hour, and by then you'll likely be unconscious for twelve hours. So go ahead and release your pent-up anger on anyone but me."

Errick's new servants begrudgingly complied, leading him deeper into the sewers to The Ragged Flagon while fighting off the rest of the crazies that inhabited the sewers along the way.

As Zacharius and Akira walked back to Whiterun from the guard tower with the surviving members of the group, Zacharius was lost in thought. Dragonborn. He was the Dragonborn. Honestly, he never thought that his grandfather was referring to him as the Nord with a destiny. He was just a normal person up until he and Akira slaughtered that dragon. To think that he was the legend that his grandfather obsessed over.

There was a part of him that figured it made sense. Since his family claimed to stem off of the Hero of Kvatch and Champion of Cyrodiil, Caleb Secus, it was possible Akatosh granted him the dragon blood as a gift for Caleb Secus's descendant to uphold a mantle of responsibility and follow in the man's example of protecting Tamriel from powerful forces. Perhaps Akatosh, the Divine of Time, chose Zacharius out of simple luck. Or perhaps even Talos (who both Caleb and Zacharius worshipped) felt he was worthy to possess the gift. Too many theories flowed into his mind, his head began to spin.

"You ok?" Akira asked, noticing his behavior.

"I should be asking you that." Zacharius responded. "You got thrown pretty hard by the dragon."

"I've survived worse." Akira noted, trying to hide the emotion that attempted to escape. Zacharius caught that, but decided not to ask. "I can't believe that Irileth doesn't believe in the whole Dragonborn thing."

"She's too prideful. Anyone can kill a dragon, sure, but according to the book of the Dragonborn, I can actually absorb the souls of dragons, keeping them dead. Besides, many people who aren't Nords have a hard time understanding or believing our stories."

"My mentor Askar the Great told me tales of the Dragonborn, but I never thought I'd meet one. You actually remind me of him a bit."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You have that air of vigilance he had around him. I adopted it when he trained me in the role of a two-handed warrior."

Zacharius was about to speak until he heard a loud call echo across Skyrim.

"DOVAHKIIN!" The sound of thunder seemed to follow along with the sunset.

"What in Oblivion was that?" Zacharius asked. "That word, Dovahkiin, it sounds strangely familiar."

"Could be a dragon word. Kind of sounds like it." Akira then sucked in a breath. "Ouch. I guess the dragon did hurt me more than I figured. I was full of adrenaline when I fought that beast. I guess it wore off."

"Maybe we should get you to the Temple of Kynareth. It might do you some good to be looked over by a healer."

Akira chuckled. "They're going to ask questions as to why a Breton warrior came to the Temple twice within twenty minutes. You mind coming along in case I suddenly collapse on the way?"

"I don't think it will come to that, but sure." Zacharius opened the doors to Whiterun for her, and they walked past two Alik'r warriors arguing with a member of the guard. The children were heading back home with their families, and guards were already pulling out torches to carry around the city. The temple was right there when Akira began to lose her footing. Zacharius caught her arm and slung it around his shoulder as he carried her into the temple. The priestess noticed the two walk inside, and she ran over to access the situation.

"Oh, sweet Kynareth. What happened to you, child?"

"She was thrown by a dragon." Zacharius explained. "I fear she got majorly injured during the fight."

"Let's get her to the table." The priestess helped Akira onto the table so she could sit down. "Where is the injury originating from, child?"

"It's... Along me chest and back." Akira answered.

"Help me get her chest piece off." Zacharius put his shield down and did as the priestess told him, unbuckling the straps to her armor. Her chest plate fell to the floor, and Zacharius grabbed her battleaxe before it clanged to the floor with the back part of her chest plate. "You say it was a dragon?" The priestess asked.

"Yes." Zacharius answered. "It was just outside Whiterun. Akira jumped onto the dragon's back and forced it to the ground. Her battleaxe remained lodged in its back, so she grabbed a warhammer from one of the fallen guards. The dragon grabbed hold of her weapon and threw her before Irileth and I distracted the beast. The dragon fell to my blade before it could kill her."

The priestess slipped Akira's shirt over her head. "I see some bruising, but nothing looks broken. I can heal most of the bruises to numb the pain for you, child." Her hands began to glow the orange color of healing magic as she began to move her hand along the bruises that had formed. Akira noticed Zacharius was staring away from her, but it was likely out of modesty. After all, her entire top part of her body was bare besides her bra and Amulet of Kynareth. The priestess herself saw many of the scars Akira sported on her flesh, and Akira suddenly became embarrassed for it.

The scar near her left hip tingled as memories began to sink back into her head.

"All right." The priestess stopped. "The bruises are healed, but I recommend you get some rest before trying to fight another dragon anytime soon."

"Thank you, uh... I'm sorry. I never asked for your name when I came in here before the dragon attack."

"It's Danica. Danica Pure-Spring." Danica smiled as she eyed the Amulet of Kynareth around Akira's neck. "It seems Kynareth smiled upon you, child. Perhaps she has something planned for you."

"Perhaps she does." Akira agreed as she slipped her shirt back on.

Zacharius helped slip Akira's chest plate on so she could get back to Jorvaskr to join her fellow Companions. When her armor was secured, she placed her battleaxe back into the portable holster she had attached to her back. After thanking Danica and receiving her blessing, Zacharius and Akira walked out of the temple and towards Jorvaskr.

Before Akira stepped into its halls, Zacharius grabbed her arm and held out a dragon bone he had pulled off of the remains of the dragon.

"This will make for a story worth singing in the great hall." Zacharius smiled, his iron helmet making him more warrior-like with his offer.

"Promise me one day you'll visit and help tell the story." Akira smiled as she took his offering.

"Sure. And perhaps you'll join me one day for more adventures to sing about."

"Sure." Akira smirked as she entered Jorvaskr. Zacharius smirked back and headed up for Dragonsreach.

Once Errick was at the Ragged Flagon, he ordered his new lackeys to wait by the door until told otherwise. The Ragged Flagon, in itself, was not as bad as he had figured. Despite the fact that the sewers still made the place smell bad, there was the large group of people huddled around it, drinking cheap mead and talking about thieving ways. This particular conversation Errick caught was extremely interesting.

"Give it up, Brynjolf!" The bartender laughed. "The old days are behind us."

"I'm telling you, this one is different."

"And I am as resourceful as you guys!" Errick yelled as he walked over to the group of conspicuous thieves. "I'm an entire thieves guild wrapped into one package."

"He seems very prideful." A balding man spoke. "Almost as much as that minx that got here a month ago."

"Let's not speak about her right now." Brynjolf spoke harshly. "And no, I'm not going to do the same thing I tried to do to the lass to this guy. I think it'd be impossible to break him. Hell, I'm not even sure it had worked on her."

Errick walked up to Brynjolf and offered the man a handshake, which Brynjolf accepted. "It was easy to get here. At first, I figured that I could try something like sliding down the the well, but I finally decided on the front door."

"That reminds me." Brynjolf turned to the balding man. "Delvin, that hole in the ceiling still needs to be patched up."

"I'll get to it when I bloody have time." The thief known as Delvin retorted. "Perhaps I'll have the little minx help me in repairing what she broke."

"I don't know if she'd be able to help you in any way. She's not a master craftsman."

"No, but she is the one that broke through the barrier in the well."

Errick scratched his head. "Uh, the master thief is lost here. Can one of you clarify?"

"Just some guild business, lad." Brynjolf replied. "No need to worry. Now, I think we should get started with some extra tasks that need to be done. Some of the inhabitants in Riften owe us some coin, and you're going to get it for us."

"Easy as pie. Just give me names and weaknesses I can exploit to shake their arms."

"You have to go after Keerava, Bersi Honey-hand, and Haelga. Keerava can be a hard-ass, but if you find something to make her squeak, she'll cough up the coin. Honey-hand has a ridiculous dwarven vase that could be used to get the gold. And Haelga is a devout follower of Dibella and she has a statue of the divine that could be used as leverage."

"That sounds very interesting. Sounds like I need to get started." Errick cracked his knuckles and headed out of the tavern while there was still daylight.

"You sure about this, Brynjolf?" Delvin asked.

"Absolutely. This thief is definitely the one that can get us back on top."

"For your sake, I hope you're right."

Within the halls of Jorvaskr, Akira immediately went downstairs and headed to a bed to get some rest. As she got onto the bed, Farkas walked in and watched as she removed her boots and gloves.

"How was the fight against the bloodsuckers?"

"They were easy to dispatch. I went to the temple to pray in case I caught their disease. Afterwards, though, I got my ass kicked by a dragon."

Farkas raised an eyebrow. "A dragon?"

"Yeah. A Nord by the name of Zacharius and I helped save a few guardsman from a dragon attacking the western watchtower. I got thrown by the beast, but not only did Zacharius save me, but he and I discovered he's the Dragonborn of Nordic legends."

"There's a Dragonborn now? Thank the nine. If dragons are coming back, then Akatosh still believes there's hope for this land."

Akira sat her axe next to the bed before turning and asked Farkas a question. "What's your take on the war for your home?"

"Honestly, I don't try to think about it much. I'm not the smartest Companion, but I understand war and death. We cause it just as much as we end it. Why? Which side do you think should win?"

"I'm not sure. I feel for the Stormcloaks in wanting a true Nord on the throne and free worship of their god, but I think the Empire needs to be unified in order to survive."

"You show care for both sides, and that you would support the Nords in the worship of Talos is inspiring." Farkas smiled. "Anyways, Kodlak has a special job that requires your attention. A scholar pointed us in the direction of a fragment of Wuuthrad, the battleaxe that Ysgramor himself wielded. I've been assigned to travel with you as your Shield-brother to see if you are worthy to truly be called a Companion."

Akira rustled around. "Sounds good. But that fight against the dragon really tired me out, and the healer at the temple told me to get some rest. Can I get an hour nap in before we head out?"

Farkas was about to talk back, but his wolf advised against it. "Okay. I'll give you an hour to rest. And before I forget, here's your payment." Farkas set a coin purse down next to her gloves on the dresser.

"Thanks. Oh, and you can show this to the other Companions." Akira grabbed the dragon bone and handed it to Farkas. "Tell them about how I brought a dragon down with the help of the Dragonborn."

"This is a dragon bone?"

"Sure is." Before Farkas could continue, Akira had immediately fallen into sleep. Farkas had to smile at the young Breton on the bed. She looked so peaceful and yet ready to spring up and fight anyone to the death with the iron dagger still strapped to her side. There was a deep primal instinct he could feel, and it made him feel like he wanted to protect her with his life.

"So, our newest member succeeded in her task?" Farkas heard Kodlak speak behind him.

"Yes." Farkas turned around. "And she even helped bring down a dragon."

"A dragon? I heard rumors that they might've been returning. You're saying she killed one?"

"Maybe not, but she definitely fought one. She said the Dragonborn saved her from the beast after it threw her during battle. She brought this dragon bone as proof."

Kodlak took the bone from Farkas's hand, examining it thoroughly. "This is indeed dragon bone. Akira definitely fought a dragon. A worthy prize for an honorable battle. Even more worthy if the Dragonborn of legend offered it to her."

"The Dragonborn sounded like an honorable Nord with the way she spoke of him."

Kodlak raised an eyebrow. "Is something troubling you, Shield-brother?"

Farkas shook his head.

Kodlak was not convinced, and his wolf could sense what it was. "You care about your new Shield-sister?"

"Despite how she is only a new arrival, I feel something for her. Compassion, sympathy, respect."

"These feelings are natural for Companions. You become attached to your Shield-brothers and sisters. You fight better, understand each other, and you hold immense respect for them. However, if these feelings become more, do not let them betray your heart."

"You speak great wisdom, Harbinger. I will try to think upon this. Thank you."

Kodlak placed a hand on Farkas's shoulder. "Anytime. You may come to me for guidance whenever you need it. My doors are always open." Kodlak handed the dragon bone back to Farkas. "And if she does return the feelings you feel now, never let a bond like that go. It is the strongest bond any warrior can hold with his Shield-siblings."

Farkas nodded as he walked to the mead hall to tell them of the tale of Akira and the Dragonborn as they took down a dragon.

Errick went to Bersi Honey-hand first, looking at the strange shop in front of him. As he entered, he caught sight of the balding man, and then he saw the dwarven vase to his right. Smiling wickely, he devised how the confrontation would play out.

"Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to have any vases for sale here, would you?"

Bersi looked at him confused. "No, we don't. Why do you ask?"

Errick picked up the vase. "I saw this and I was like 'this has to be worth thirty gold.' But I bet you know how much it costs."

"That's a family heirloom! Put it down!"

Errick immediately tossed it in the air, spinning it on his index finger. "Not thirty? How about fifty?"

"I said put it down!"

"Seventy-five?"

"PUT IT-"

The vase fell off of Errick's fingers and crashed onto the floor, shattering into fragments. Bersi's mouth hung wide open, and Errick was sure that the man's mouth was going to stay that way forever.

"Oh, shit. I'm sorry, man. I got distracted by all that yelling. I was about to say it might've actually been a hundred septims. Speaking of which, you owe the guild that much money."

"What? You're-"

"Yep! Now, either hand it over or I take away everything you owe in just a blink of an eye. Believe me, I've done that before."

The man gave the money to Errick and the jolly man left before he saw the shopkeeper break out into tears.

Up in Dragonsreach, Zacharius had walked up to the Jarl, who was joined by his steward and his brother. The Jarl had possessed a look of worry as he had approached. Zacharius himself had no idea how the Jarl would react to the news.

"So, what happened at the watchtower?" Balgruuf asked. "Was the dragon attacking?"

"The dragon wrecked part of the tower, but your men and I brought it down, along with the help of the Companions's newest member."

"That's good. But there's more to it, is there."

"According to your men, I am Dragonborn."

"Dragonborn? What do you know about the Dragonborn?"

"When I slayed the dragon, it began to burst into flame. Some sort of magic flowed into me, and I spoke some kind of word that made a shockwave across the air."

"What? So the Greybeards were summoning you?"

"Greybeards? Who are they?"

"Masters in the Way of the Voice. They live in High Hrothgar, up on the Throat of the World. They called for you."

Balgruuf's brother turned towards him. "Didn't you hear the earth-trembling shout as you returned to Whiterun? That was the Greybeards calling for you. Such a thing hasn't happened in... forever, not since Tiber Septim himself."

"Hrongar, please." Proventius argued. "What does this More nonsense have to do with our friend here?"

"Nord nonsense?! Why you- those are our ancient traditions that have existed since the founding of the First Empire!"

"Hrongar, relax." Balgruuf spoke calmly.

"I meant no disrespect." Proventius assured. "It's just that- what do these Greybeards want with our friend here?"

"That's the Greybeards' business, not ours." Balgruuf faced Zacharius. "You should head to Ivarstead and take the seven thousand steps to High Hrothgar. The summoning of the Greybeards is a tremendous honor and should not be ignored. I envy you, you know. To walk the seven thousand steps... I once underwent the pilgrimage to High Hrothgar. Did you know that?" He continued after Zacharius shook his head. "It's so peaceful up there, free from the troubles of the world. I wonder if they even care about us and our troubles down here with the war."

"The Greybeards are likely meditating on our troubles as much as their own." Zacharius assured. "Perhaps I'll ask them when I reach the top of those seven thousand steps."

Balgruuf nodded before clearing his throat. "You've done my city a great service, Dragonborn. As my right as Jarl, I name you Thane of Whiterun. I assign Lydia as your personal housecarl, and reward you this weapon as your badge of office." Balgruuf handed him a steel war axe with a definite enchantment on it. "I'll also notify my guards of your new title. Wouldn't want them to think you are part of the common rabble now, right?" Balgruuf chuckled as he finished that statement.

Zacharius chuckled back. "I am honored, Jarl Balgruuf. But I have only one question: who's Lydia?"

"Lydia is one of my finest warriors that has been training as a housecarl for some time. She can fill you in on the details when you meet her."

Zacharius nodded. "Okay. I should make way to High Hrothgar immediately. If the Greybeards are as important as you proclaim, I should not keep them waiting. May the divines bless you and your hold." He gave a bow before he headed to the doors. As he slipped the Axe of Whiterun into his backpack, a young Nord woman came walking up to him. She had dark brown hair and dark eyes with a set of steel armor that fit around her small frame. Her face was rather beautiful from Zacharius's first glance.

"Long life to you, Thane." The woman who Zacharius guessed was Lydia greeted.

"You are Lydia, then?"

"Yes."

"What does a housecarl do, exactly?"

"I am sworn to protect you and everything you own with my life."

"You're trained to do that?"

"Yeah. Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to protect people. I took the training to become a housecarl to do just that."

"The Jarl said I'm now a Thane. What does that mean?"

"It means you are someone important within the hold. People look up to you and respect you, and guards will look the other way if you tell them about your status."

"Hmm." Zacharius rubbed his chin with his gloved hand, feeling the beard that was beginning to form. "All right. I will be travelling to Ivarstead tonight. Shall you accompany me?"

Lydia nodded. "Lead on."

Haelga's bunkhouse was the next location Errick went to. The inside looked nice but Errick recognized a familiar musky smell almost immediately. The woman named Haelga definitely took the whole Dibella worshipping to heart, which both excited and disgusted Errick. It excited him because someone would always be on the market in Riften should he need company, but it also disgusted him that this woman is doing it all based on religion. Now don't get him wrong, he doesn't deny that the Divines exist, but he knows they would never back up a thief like him. That's why he relies on himself and not the worship of any diety, and he wouldn't change that for anything.

Finding the Dibella statue around the corner, Errick quickly looked around to make sure Haelga and her neice wasn't looking, and he grabbed the statue, tossing it between his hands until Haelga took notice.

"Hey! Put Dibella back!"

"Not until you pay what you owe the guild. And I recommend quickly before I decide to do something else with it, like throw it down a well, smash it to the ground, or perhaps redecorate her with something she really wants all over her skin. I'm sure she'd look more beautiful after getting herself coated in-"

"All right!" Haelga yelled, wanting Errick to get his hands off of the statue. She pulled out a coin purse and put it on the table. "Here's your payment. I hope you choke on it."

Errick smiled as he took the coin purse, tossing her the Dibella statue. "I hope you choke on her." He laughed as she struggled to keep the statue in her hands, taking the coin purse and leaving the store.

Stryger entered his quarters after his unfortunate luck in the library. The librarian, Urag gro-Shub, said that the book he was looking for on the orb was taken by a recent rebellious student that wanted to impress a group of conjurers in the ruins of Fellglow Keep. To make matters worse, Urag also had no knowledge of a book connected to his... 'gift,' he decided to call it. That almost made his entire journey to Skyrim meaningless had it not been for the fact that a member of the Psijic Order likely contacted him, saying that a chain of events began and have to end with him.

Then there was Ancaro.

The Thalmor representative began asking him questions about Saarthal, and Stryger had to resist the urge to throw a fireball at him. His patience had really been tested when he brought up the whole 'follow your superior's orders' speech. He stormed out of the library in a fury, and now the painful memories of the Thalmor burning down his village came back to him. Most of the villagers were killed, and others had been captured. In the end, only he and the neighbor wizard survived.

That was the day his gift manifested.

Before he reached his chambers, he saw Brelyna studying a book. He remembered promising to help her practice her spells, and decided it would be a good distraction from the meeting with Ancaro. Making his way to sit beside her, he brought a cunning smile to his face.

"Busy?" Stryger asked kindly.

Brelyna looked up. "No, I'm just studying my spell. I want to make sure I got it right." She stood up. "Want to help me test it out?"

"I do remember promising to help you with your spells on our way to Saarthal." Stryger smiled as he stood up.

"Okay. Just hold still for me, please." Brelyna's hands began to glow as she tossed a spell at him. "I think it worked- wait, you look a little green. Are you all right?"

Stryger opened his eyes. "I'm seeing green everywhere."

"No, that wasn't supposed to happen. Uh, well, I guess we should wait for the spell to wear off before I continue. Don't worry, I'm sure it'll wear off... eventually."

"I know it will. I attempted a spell like this fifty years ago. It should wear off in about six hours. Why don't we go to my room and talk."

Brelyna cocked an eyebrow, placing a hand on her hip. "Just talk?"

"If I wanted to bed you, I'd at least buy you dinner first. Besides, with a spell that made me green, I'm sure it would ruin the mood."

Brelyna smiled. "Okay, fair enough."

"Shall we?" Stryger motioned an arm towards his room. Brelyna followed in and sat in the chair while Stryger sat on his bed.

"So, I've told a lot about myself to you, Stryger. What about yourself?"

"Well, besides the fact I've been travelling since I came of age, my history has been long and almost boring. I studied magic and gave aid to many kingdoms. I've nearly mastered the arcane arts in the time I have been alive."

"What about before you travelled? Any family? Friends? Loved ones?"

Stryger looked down, and his expression changed. Brelyna immediately felt guilty, thinking she had struck a nerve with a bolt of lightning.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. You didn't know. But you deserve to know." Stryger stood up. "The reason I despise the Thalmor is that they destroyed my village when I turned eighteen. They either killed or imprisoned all of the people, and only my neighbor, a powerful wizard by the name of Sergio and I survived. My entire family was slaughtered by the Thalmor, and I couldn't find anything of my brother's to tell me whether or not he survived."

Stryger paused for a moment, contemplating on how much he should tell her. "Sergio was wounded in the attack, and when I found him after the fires had stopped burning, I healed him back to full health. He taught me everything about magic that he could, and I travelled all across Tamriel to learn everything else I could learn. That's pretty much my story."

Brelyna felt sorry for the Altmer. She had never expected such a sad tale from a man so friendly and always smiled. "I didn't think the Thalmor would ever do that to their own people."

"They did in the earlier years of the Aldmeri Dominion. That's how they took power in Summerset Isle so easily. That's how they got so many Altmer on their side. That's why I despise them. Killing innocents is not the answer. Only tyrants perform that task."

"And you're not a tyrant from what you've told me."

"I never would be."

Brelyna hugged the green high elf in front of her, ignoring the fact that her spell could likely transfer onto herself. Stryger didn't react at first to this, but he eventually wrapped his arms around her, grateful that she showed compassion towards him. Brelyna's ear was against his chest, and she could hear the beating of his heart. The hardness of his chest muscles also caught her attention, and for a second she thought he was stroking her hood. He took slow, calming breaths as he held her closer. They seemed to stay there for minutes until a familiar voice caught their attention.

"It seems J'zargo has lost a certain competition, Highborn."

Stryger and Brelyna looked at J'zargo, who was leaning at his doorway with a combined emotion of jealousy and curiosity.

"Get lost, cat." Brelyna scowled.

"Fine. J'zargo will leave you with your glowing green elf. He looks pretty enough for you."

Brelyna fired a bolt of lightning at J'zargo's tail, making him yell a cat-like howl as he retreated.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side." Stryger joked as they broke out laughing, spending the rest of the night talking about their adventures until sleep took ahold of them.

Once Errick had taken care of those muscle jobs for Brynjolf, he reentered the sewers and made it to the Ragged Flagon to talk with the man. It was very easy for him to get the gold they owed with smooth talk, quick fingers, and a tough guy attitude. The argonion at the Bee and Bard handed over the gold immediately after he dealt with the other two. Their payments jiggled in his pockets as he walked over to the table Brynjolf was at. The Nord was wearing a black armor that gave him a thief's mobility with a duelist's protection.

"Here's the gold." Errick smiled as he dropped three pouches of gold onto the table.

Brynjolf put his fork down and smiled. "Well done. And it would seem I owe you something in return. Here you go." He handed him a few potions, which Errick took. He slipped it into his pockets and sat down.

"So, what's next?"

"Judging from how well you handled those shop keepers, I'd say you done more than simply prove yourself. We need people like you in our outfit."

"Well, I'd prefer to keep my outfit because it's better than the ones you guys have, but I can definitely aid your organization. I do have some terms, however-"

"We'll discuss that with Mercer. Just follow me." Brynjolf got up from his spot at the table and walked over to the doorway behind the bar. Errick followed to see there was a secret entrance through a pantry shelf that led to another part of the Ratway.

"Okay, this is my type of hideout." Errick smiled wickedly. The master thief followed Brynjolf through the secret passageway until they reached another chamber, which Errick guessed was underneath the well in Riften's market square. Another man in the same black uniform as Brynjolf stood in the middle, and Errick guessed he was the real head honcho around here. Just the way the Breton thief held his head spoke that he was the one in charge, and he was definitely impatient with the look on his face.

"Damn it, Brynjolf." He growled. "I told you we don't need more hirelings. What we need is our current forces pulling off jobs!"

"This one is different, Mercer, and well worth our time." Brynjolf stated, defending Errick's honor.

"Brynjolf, you don't need another protogé. What you need to do is send Isobel out on jobs instead of 'training' her. Have you forgotten what she did the last time you refused to give her a job?"

"Let me guess," Errick interrupted. "She stole from someone important."

"Two days before High King Torygg was murdered by Ulfric Stormcloak, Isobel snuck into his chambers dressed as one of his guards and removed Stormcloak's Amulet of Talos from his neck."

"Oooohhhh, she sounds like my type of girl."

Mercer sighed, placing his palm on his face. "Brynjolf, why? Why do you do this to me?"

"He can help us get the guild back on top." Brynjolf pleaded. "I've seen his work. He's better than the rest of the rookies we've been pushing for piss-poor heists."

"I also work for a higher paycheck: eighty-five percent of profits."

"That's outrageous!" Mercer yelled.

"I know, right? Normally, I'd charge ninety percent, but since your guild's going under, I thought I'd show a bit of generosity."

"Tell me you didn't agree to this, Brynjolf!"

Brynjolf raised his hand towards Mercer. "He only said he had terms, but he seems a reasonable man, for a thief." He turned towards Errick. "How about we trade it up a bit. We give you sixty percent for every successful heist plus the best house on the market here in Riften to use for your own odds and ends. All you need to do in return is follow our rules and bring in more coin."

"Hmm." Errick hummed, rubbing his chin. "You make a pretty convincing argument, Brynjolf. Make it sixty-five with all furnishings in that house."

Mercer cleared his throat. "How about we have this thief prove he's worth that price first."

Brynjolf cocked his eye. "You're not talking about the Goldenglow job, are you? Vex barely made it out of there last time we sent someone in."

"You say this thief is worth the headache? I say let him prove it!"

As Mercer finished his ranting, a young Breton woman had walked up and caught Errick's eye. Her short, shaggy hair was black as night and her eyes were a sparkling blue, making Errick's brown-hazel eyes look like a muddy lake in Cyrodiil. Her short hair and lack of curves did make her look somewhat boyish, but Errick could read minx thief all over her, and from the way she held herself she looked almost as cocky as he did. He could tell she was reading him too as her eyes searched over him.

"So, who's the new guy?" She asked.

(Errick snapped his fingers and smiled as time seemed to freeze. He turned to face the audience. "Even though the author is going to mention who she is and where she's from at the end of the chapter, I feel like spoiling it for you and letting you know she's Isobel Woodwing from SpiritofJazz's excellent novel "A Tale of a Nightingale." Ironically, SpiritofJazz just might be my biggest fan ever, and BlueSpartan107 really loves what she has written so far. So they made a deal: Isobel follows me around, and in return a specific character from this novel will appear in her novel for a cameo. I think he's stated that quite a bit in those author's notes of his he obsesses over."

"Errick," BlueSpartan107 spoke, "please continue the story! I don't need these interruptions right now!"

Errick raised his hands in defense. "All right! Geez, don't go full-Vaas on me. And try finishing that game for a change before you try your impression of him."

"Errick, get moving! Otherwise I'll make you fight a dragon by yourself in this story."

"Okay! Geez." Errick shook his head and snapped his fingers again, letting reality continue.)

"Errick Entius, master thief and duelist at your service. I currently hold the record of most objects stolen from Emperor Titus Mede II."

The Breton woman cocked an eyebrow. "I've never seen you in the Imperial City before. Neither has Gray Fox."

"That's because I wasn't part of that guild at the time. I'm the best thief in the business, but not the most famous. I need to watch my step to keep it that way."

"You seem to hold a lot of confidence."

"I could say the same of you, although you should check your pocket for that amethyst."

"How'd you-" Brynjolf started as Errick revealed the amethyst from her pocket in between two of his fingers.

"Give that back..." Isobel hissed through clenched teeth.

"I didn't catch your name, miss..."

She didn't answer as she reached for the amethyst. But it was now in Errick's opposite hand before Isobel could catch it. She reached for his left hand, but just as she reached it, Errick stuck out his tongue to reveal the amethyst had yet again moved, balancing on the wet muscle that he showed off. This time, however, the amethyst stayed, as there were only two other places it could go, and he didn't want to push her too far. Isobel scowled as she finally took the amethyst from him, wiping off his saliva on her suit.

"It's Isobel."

"Well, this new thief just might be the thing that sends you back to Cyrodiil in a box of live skeevers, you little imp." Mercer snickered, getting an angry look from Isobel.

"Imp?" Errick looked around the hideout all confused. "Where? I don't see it. Why couldn't those damn flying thingies stay in Cyrodiil?"

Mercer looked at Brynjolf, who shrugged. "We're talking about her."

"Her? Who's her? Maven Black-Briar?"

"The Breton in front of you!"

Errick looked at Mercer. "By the zero, stop making a fool of yourself, old man. Don't listen to their insults about how you look. They're just jealous."

Mercer looked like he was ready to cut Errick's head off, but the thief only smiled back. "Brynjolf, give him the details. I'm getting too old for this shit." Mercer walked away, leaving Brynjolf alone with Errick and Isobel.

"You'd do best not to antagonize Mercer in the future." Brynjolf warned. "It was bad enough that Isobel has been getting on his bad side recently."

"The man was claiming I was Gray Fox's bitch!" Isobel reacted. "I needed to shut that bastard's mouth up."

"And now I have to deal with the headache of him complaining about it all the time."

"Maybe if you had started sending me on jobs, he'd be in a better mood than he's in now."

"He'd probably be a bit happier if Delvin could patch up the hole in the ceiling you caused when you found the sanctuary."

"You didn't give me specific instructions on how to get here!"

Errick whistled a note that dropped as he motioned his hand like something was falling. Brynjolf and Isobel looked at him. "A bit of a mood killer, like when my dad accidentally killed himself by falling off the White-Gold Tower drunker than a deer that lost its coordination skills. Scared the shit out of the Thalmor seeing the great thief Hod Entius splatter himself right in front of them."

"Damn," Brynjolf muttered.

"But enough about my cheery past. What's the job?"

"Simple yet damn-near impossible. Go to Goldenglow Estate, steal from Aringoth's safe, light the beehives on fire, and avoid the mercenaries. If you need to kill anybody there, so be it, but our client prefers we keep Aringoth alive."

"Let me guess, the client is Maven Black-Briar?"

Brynjolf cocked his eye. "You're quite sharp. Let's see if you're as sharp as you look. Return here when the job's done, and talk to Vex if you want any details regarding the place. She was sent there last time, but she barely pulled out in time before she was overwhelmed."

"I know that feeling, all right." Errick smirked, gaining a chuckle from Isobel.

Brynjolf shook his head as soon as he noticed what Errick meant. "Joke all you want about how I phrase things, Mr. Entius. Between Isobel and Vipir, dirty minds and hedonism aren't an unusual phenomena here." Isobel snickered at the statement. "Just get the jobs done. One last thing: welcome to the Guild." With that, Brynjolf walked away, leaving Isobel in the middle with Errick.

"So, Errick Entius, you have any room on your mission for an extra set of hands?"

Errick smiled. "I know what you're trying to do, and I have to say, no one can out-thief me. But if you really want to come along, fine. Don't expect me to make you do all the work, though."

"Oooohhh, Mercer and Brynjolf are going to be so pissed when they realize I snuck out again!" Isobel skipped past him to the secret ladder entrance out, and Errick had to chuckle at the fiery fox in front of him. She was likely more trouble than she was worth, but then again, Errick had been trouble ever since he left his mother's womb. "C'mon, the sooner we get the job done the sooner we get to see Brynjolf's dumb face! It's so brilliant!"

He walked up the ladder to the outside world.

"This Breton woman named Isobel was Errick's companion, right?"

"Yes, Ronan. Isobel was definitely a woman full of fire, but Akira's fire burned even brighter. Hell, when I met Isobel the first time, I had to stop a fight between the two women, which led to me shouting Errick off of the roof of the Bee and Bard. I'll get to that later, though. There was plenty of adventure in between those moments to talk about first."

"What exactly attracted the two thieves to each other?"

"Competition, admiration, and definitely to prove who was the most dominant. Throughout Errick's career, Isobel was always trying to out-thief the thief. But something I learned from Errick himself is that sometimes you can't out-thief an Imperial blessed with the luck of a divine."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Errick Entius is a bastard, both in actuallity and personality.

As he stated, SpiritofJazz's main character from A Tale of a Nightingale, Isobel Woodwing, will be a guest in my story. The reason for this is that I liked reading her story and I offered to have her as a guest within my Skyrim storyline. Think of it like the Mooch in COPS: SKYRIM or perhaps Ezio Auditore in Soul Calibur V. As a trade, one of my characters appears as a cameo in her story, but it's not Errick (not unless she's planned a cameo behind my back talking to his original creator, MassFieldBlood). I looked over the cameo scene for her, and she did the same for this scene and the first scene of the next chapter. Some of the lines were edited or added by her in the final scene, but ultimately she's given me permission to control (is that the right word?) what it is Isobel shall do in this story. Events she had performed (such as crashing through the well or stealing Ulfric Stormcloak's Amulet of Talos) will also be mentioned throughout the book, but will be slightly altered upon the timeline due to how differently the time periods in my story are. Some of their scenes will be the reason there is the SC icon in the description, but I don't know just how much I'd write for those scenes just yet because I've never even tried writing those types of scenes for Mass Effect: Resolution.

If you haven't read A Tale of a Nightingale before, I recommend you give it a read and tell her I sent you. (Wink.)

Also, despite the fact this is a slight spoiler, a guest profile asked if I would throw in the quest A Night To Remember. Truthfully, that will be a seperate story that will take place between Alduin's defeat and Dawnguard, and the main character will be Errick with Zacharius and Isobel popping up later. And just so you know, Sam isn't always in Whiterun. He's always appearing in inns and taverns all around Skyrim around level 15-20 I believe. He actually once tried to kill me when I created a rampaging orc that killed a lot of people in the game. He and Brynjolf were nightmares to try and fight.

A quick favor I want to ask of anyone willing to review/PM an answer to this question, I would like any suggestions on what kind of questions Zacharius could ask about Lydia to learn more about her. Is there anything in particular you want to have Zacharius ask about her? She is kind of a puzzlebox to me, and my recreation of Zacharius on my xbox to try and map out the story better has him dragging her around everywhere, but she's just too static for me to come up with ideas.

Anyways, shoutouts to Admiral Anderson and SpiritofJazz for reviewing last time. Next time will focus on Errick and Akira mostly, with a part of Zacharius and Lydia in the middle.

P.S. FINALLY GOT MY LAPTOP! WHOO!