Author's Note:

A very, very long chapter ahead. Sorry about that. Things always get away from me a little at the meadery. Too many things to talk about :D In any case, I hope you are all ready for Bishop and Raven to meet again :D Pettiness for everyone!

Thank you all for reading and I hope you'll enjoy :3

Chapter XXXII – A New Phase

Aeyrin closed the door of the meadery behind her and stepped towards the counter.

She was exhausted. The battle… well… she could not really call it a 'battle', could she? The survival of Alduin's assault took a lot from them and when they were finally sure that the coast was clear, they left for the meadery right away with no rest or recuperation. They could not afford the risk – what if he came back for them since he knew where they were? They had to hide instantly and the meadery was their best option. They could rest there after all.

It was already past nightfall, but she didn't even have to use the key that Karliah had given her for emergencies. Sabjorn was still awake, taking care of his bookkeeping behind the counter.

"Ah, hello, lass. Good to see you again," he beamed at her in greeting.

"Hello, Sabjorn. Still working?" she smiled at him in return.

"Aye, lass, aye," he sighed tiredly. "You're in luck today. They're both in."

That was both good news and bad news. She and Bishop needed to talk to both Karliah and Raven, probably. Although she wasn't sure if Raven was still in charge of her missions, since the caravans were finally taken care of. And Karliah knew all about her jobs anyway. But the bad news was that there would not be a lot of room for all of them to sleep there. And also… she kind of did not want Bishop and Raven to meet, after she cracked and told him about the kiss. It was probably going to be very uncomfortable.

"They've been here a lot lately, both of them. But a lot more people come and go, so I guess they just got lazy," Sabjorn chuckled. It was more likely that Karliah had most of her research and plans here and she did not want to travel with those too much, lest she got ambushed.

A sudden sound from the other room behind the closed doors interrupted them. It was a subtle creak of the hinges of the window.

Good. Bishop got there without a hitch. The last thing they needed today was for him to get caught by a patrol in Whiterun Hold. They separated soon after leaving their hiding cave, unfortunately. It was still too dangerous for Bishop to travel on the roads so near the city and Aeyrin wouldn't be as fast and subtle as him in the wilderness. It was for the best, even though it was the last thing either of them wanted to do after that ordeal. But it all went without any trouble, thank the Eight.

"There he goes again," Sabjorn sighed. Aeyrin was surprised for a bit that the man knew about Bishop's stealthy entrances, but it made sense. He had to know, in case he caught him there at any point. "You know that man, right? I remember that you were here too once, when he came in."

He was probably referring to the first time her and Bishop ran into each other here – the time when they first saw each other after Falkreath. That was months ago now. She was surprised that Sabjorn even remembered this.

She only nodded in response.

"Say, lass, you happen to know why he creeps through the window? Miss Karliah only said to keep the window unlocked for him, but nothing else," Sabjorn's brows creased in suspicion.

It made sense that he didn't know. He probably didn't even know who Bishop was, despite the bounty. He'd probably never seen the man entering through the window. It was for the best. The bounty was for a lot of money and who knew how loyal Sabjorn really was?

"Maybe he's just not feeling very social?" Aeyrin smirked. She suspected that Bishop was waiting for her downstairs so that they'd enter the attic room together. He was probably listening to them right now.

Sabjorn laughed heartily at her with a wry shake of his head.

"You know how it is, Sabjorn. Need-to-know basis. They don't tell me that much either," she smiled a little. She probably knew more than Sabjorn did about the operations, but she couldn't even be sure of that. Not with Karliah.

"Aey, lass, I know. We gotta take what little we get," he chuckled a bit.

They stood there in brief silence before Aeyrin turned a bit, readying herself to leave.

"Lass, listen," Sabjorn stopped her with an uncharacteristically nervous tone in his voice. "I just wanted to say… I'm sorry about your bandit trouble."

She froze suddenly and an uncomfortable chill ran down her spine. 'Bandit trouble'?! Did he know? About Thorn? Did Karliah seriously tell him?! Why? Why would she do that?! Why would anyone need to know that?!

She felt her fists clenching in anger and her teeth gritting. This was so infuriating! She didn't want to have to discuss this with veritable strangers! She didn't want even more people giving her pity looks!

"I mean… I heard the rumors. Everyone has," Sabjorn sighed. What?! 'Everyone'?! "I remember the first time you came in here… that you were with that man. I'm sorry you got duped, lass. Happens to the best of us."

Oh…

That 'bandit trouble'.

Aeyrin felt her anger wane, but now she got more uncomfortable than anything. She was sure that Bishop was right there, behind that door, listening. Sabjorn probably had no idea that the man coming through the window and the wanted bandit were one and the same.

"I… It's alright… It's been a long time," she stammered nervously. She already knew that the whole Hold was whispering about how she got 'manipulated by the vicious Thrice-Banished', but that did not make it any easier to deal with it. Especially with that 'dread bandit' listening to the conversation.

"Aye. And don't listen to the vultures, lass. They can't help but squawk," Sabjorn smirked at her.

Easier said than done.

"Thanks, Sabjorn. I… I should really…" she gestured towards the door to the other room. Luckily, Sabjorn only gave her an understanding nod before he went back to his bookkeeping. She was finally free to leave.

She walked into the other room and closed the door behind her. Bishop was predictably there, leaning on the wall by the door with a morose expression on his face.

He didn't say anything, but that expression didn't change at all as he merely started walking towards the stairs silently, ushering her along.

…

"Ah. Both of you… convenient," Karliah smiled slightly when they entered the attic room together.

She was at her usual spot – sitting by the table, surrounded by notes, plans and blueprints. Raven was on the other side of the room, sitting on the ground along with a myriad of some official-looking documents in several neat piles. He raised his eyes up at them promptly and his expression turned rather… sour.

"Well… don't you two look… worse for the wear. Everything alright?" Karliah's brows creased when she looked them over with palpable concern – at the charred marks on Aeyrin's plates, their disheveled looks and their tired expressions.

"Sure… just a little hitch on the road," Bishop scoffed before he slumped his pack onto the ground and started to unbuckle his armor. It felt like it was still sticking uncomfortably to him, after all the heat and sweat.

"Another ambush?" Karliah asked with a worried tone. Was she worried that Mercer would send more people to track Bishop down? That seemed unlikely… he probably didn't even know what happened at that safehouse and who was the agent responsible.

"A dragon," Aeyrin corrected her. It still did not seem like a good idea to reveal the whole 'world-ending business' to anyone. Not without consulting Esbern and Delphine, at least. Although… with what they've just witnessed… maybe it would be helpful if people started to take the dragons more seriously. Maybe then the soldiers could concentrate on the real issue, not their petty war.

"Ah. Good," Karliah let out a relieved sigh. "Well… not 'good'. Just… I'm glad that you two are alright." A weak smile appeared on her face before she gestured towards the chairs by the table once they were both out of their armors at last. Raven left his position on the ground in the meantime to join them and as they all gathered by the table, Bishop pointedly placed his chair very close to Aeyrin's. She couldn't help herself but roll her eyes at him with a wry smile.

So transparent.

She definitely knew him well enough to expect this. Of course he had to make a show for Raven. She didn't really mind. Raven should know by now, after all – she had told him without hesitation that she wanted Bishop back, it must have been clear to him by now. And if it made Bishop feel better about what had transpired between her and Raven, she really couldn't care less about these transparent performances.

"Bishop, I… I am so sorry. I had no idea that Thrynn would…" Karliah shook her head regretfully, as the conversation picked up, before Bishop interrupted her.

"Yeah. I don't think you were supposed to suspect that," he snorted. "Not like it's your fault."

"Aye. You were… brief, in your letter. What exactly happened?" Karliah prodded.

"Not much. Everything went fine until the safehouse… real easy, in fact, there was hardly any proper security in the cave where he was held," Bishop shrugged with a deep scowl, eliciting a scoff from Raven. When everyone turned their attention to him, he quickly scribbled something on a piece of parchment.

.

And that didn't seem suspicious to you? How fucking brainless are you?

.

Bishop narrowed his eyes hatefully at Raven in an instant. "It took the scout almost two fucking days to even find that cave. By that time, Frey would have gotten everything he needed from that fucker and just kept him there for fun. Why would he waste forces on that?" he snorted disdainfully.

Raven only rolled his eyes at Bishop and, luckily, Karliah brought the conversation back on track soon enough. "Right. So everything was fine in the safehouse until you arrived with Thrynn?"

"Yeah," Bishop nodded. "He kept blabbering about some shit on the way, how he didn't think it would be me who would come for him. Whatever. Not like he did anything to warn me about the ambush. There were four Guild members waiting at the safehouse, including Ravyn. Thrynn kept apologizing, but he left anyway. Part of the deal, apparently. He said that Mercer procured him a way from Skyrim and that idiot believed it," he shook his head incredulously before he paused. He wasn't sure if he should say what he was thinking – not like Thrynn deserved to have anything said to his excuse, but… to an extent, he was right. Bishop did understand. Not trusting Mercer. Never trusting Mercer. But he understood why Thrynn felt like he had no other choice. "I… think that he was convinced that you'd have him killed… or worse… for revealing his association with you," he pointedly turned his eyes to Karliah.

"Aye… I see. Thrynn… he has been through much. I understand why he would think that after… after the life he's led," Karliah sighed somberly. "It… matters not. What is done is done. You disposed of the ambush with no trouble then?"

She may have been overestimating his abilities if she thought that.

"Hardly. I managed to kill them, but I would've bleed out right there in your 'safehouse' if it weren't for Aeyrin," he scoffed. He would have loved to see anyone do better than he did in that kind of a situation – surrounded in close quarters without even having his weapon drawn.

Raven and Karliah both shot Aeyrin a surprised look. "I don't understand. You were there?" Karliah asked in confusion.

"No… not really. I was nearby. We were supposed to meet when Bishop dropped Thrynn off, but… well… Karnwyr managed to find me in time and lead me to the safehouse. It… was almost… almost too late." Aeyrin looked at the table, shaking her head. The image of the massacre returned to her mind promptly. Despite everything that she'd been through, she probably wasn't that terrified her entire life. She almost lost him. Forever this time.

Bishop placed his hand on the back of her neck and squeezed her comfortingly. She threw him a small smile in turn. It was not as if she didn't know that he was there, right next to her, alive and well, but it was still a nice little extra reassurance to feel his warm skin on hers.

He left his hand there after that, with his arm lying gently over the back of her chair. Now she wasn't so sure if the gesture was merely meant to comfort her. He and Raven stared at each other intently the entire time, as if they were waging some petty wordless battle for dominance.

"Thank Lady Luck for small miracles then," Karliah sighed. "Bishop, I… I don't know what to say… I…"

"How about some hazard pay and we're good?" Bishop interrupted her again. It was not like he could blame her for what happened. But since she was determined to act responsible, he might as well get something from the whole ordeal. He was almost out of money after he spent almost the entirety of Thorn's bounty on Ambarys.

"Deal," Karliah smirked. Her apologetic face turned into a sly and satisfied smile within a second.

"What about Thrynn? Do you know what happened? Where he is?" Bishop asked after a while. There were only two possible answers for this, he knew that all too well. Either Karliah found Thrynn after Bishop's letter and captured him, or…

"No. I put out feelers for him, but the contacts that managed to respond up until today haven't seen him at all," Karliah shook her head somberly.

"Right… so it's pretty much safe to say that he's either dead or still getting tortured for information somewhere," Bishop scoffed.

"What? But I thought he had a deal with Mercer," Aeyrin turned her head to Bishop with a surprised look in her eyes. His only response was a slow shake of his head as he squeezed her gently around her neck again. It only took a second for her to notice that both Raven and Karliah responded with the same somber look and a shake of their heads.

"Why would Mercer ever honor that deal?" Bishop scowled fiercely. "He only kept him safe enough to make him pliable. That whole torture performance in that cave… probably an act. Now comes the real deal. The important question is, though, what does Thrynn know?"

"Not much, fortunately. I have already considered this, of course," Karliah nodded at him. "He obviously knows of our operations against Thorn's clans, but… so does Mercer by now. He knows about the involvement of the two of you, which… again, so does Mercer. His only task was to remain in the Guild and see how the situation develops after Thorn's death. Truth be told… I don't usually use those still affiliated with the Guild for critical missions and critical information. I suppose you can see why now," she gave them a rather weak smirk. "He does know about Raven's involvement, which is unfortunate, since I have managed to keep it a secret from almost everyone, up until now. I think Mercer believed that Raven had disappeared after their confrontation, which is why none of his associates were even informed about Raven's existence. But… the damage is likely done now," Karliah exchanged a regretful look with Raven, who merely shrugged his shoulders at her. He did not seem as concerned as she did. "The last thing that Thrynn was privy to, was, of course, Sapphire's involvement. I have already arranged to have her moved into one of our hideouts to protect her from Mercer. My men have informed me that she has managed to get out of the Guild with no issues. Mercer did not know yet, that is for certain. Now they are traveling with her somewhere safe."

"Right… unless she pulls the same shit that Thrynn did," Bishop scoffed.

"I cannot say that it is not a possibility. After all, I hardly expected this from Thrynn," Karliah sighed. "But… if Mercer would have made the offer to her, she would know that there was only one way in which he could have found out about her involvement. From torturing the information out of Thrynn. Which would only tell her that Mercer's promise to let her leave would mean nothing, just like it did for Thrynn. She would have no reason to believe him. And besides, from what I know of Sapphire, there is nothing that anyone can offer her anymore. There is nothing she wanted more than what you have already given her," Karliah looked at Bishop pointedly.

"What? Thorn's severed head?" Bishop smirked.

"Precisely, actually. And the only thing she wants now, is something that only we can give her again. Mercer's severed head," Karliah chuckled slightly.

"Y-you're being figurative, right?" Aeyrin cringed. For some reason, she could not get the image of Bishop proudly presenting an actual severed head of that monster to Sapphire. She couldn't help but shudder at that thought. But… Bishop surely had other concerns after he had killed Thorn.

"Aye. I was the one with the head, actually. I gave it to Jarl Siddgeir," Karliah gave her a conspiratorial smile. Well… there was another image. Why could Aeyrin not stop picturing Thorn's severed head? One might think that it would be a satisfying fantasy, but it was actually more disturbing than anything. It only seemed like he was even more scary and monstrous like that for some reason.

There was a lull in the conversation. Karliah seemed hardly concerned with the strange topic as she suddenly grabbed one of her papers and peered into it, likely already concocting some new mission for Aeyrin and Bishop. Raven's eyes found Aeyrin in the meantime. He must have noticed something about her expression, as he gave her a soft sympathetic look. His eyes did not linger for long though, and, soon enough, his gaze roamed down onto her neck and Bishop's arm, which was still outstretched over the back of her chair while his fingers ran idle gentle circles over the side of her neck. Raven scowled, predictably, but his line of sight apparently didn't seem to escape Bishop's notice. Aeyrin felt him move his hand subtly and he quickly raked his fingers through her hair, which was still tied up in a messy ponytail from their travels. She felt the hair slide from her front, over her shoulder and down the chair's back – uncovering the faint traces of the love-bite that Bishop left on the side of her neck back in the tundra.

Divines! Seriously?!

She quickly moved her hair back into position again with an admonishing look in Bishop's direction. She could not help the blush spreading on her cheeks nonetheless and Raven seemed a lot angrier than before. She knew that this would be uncomfortable.

"Uhh… Karliah… what about the assaults?" she quickly prodded the Dunmer to shift the focus on their work again.

"Oh, aye, the assaults," Karliah placed her paper back on the table and started to pay attention to them again. Everyone listened to her now, but Bishop still kept his hand on Aeyrin's neck, stroking his fingers gently over her skin, while Raven's eyes occasionally still darted in that direction. She tried to ignore all that and concentrate on Karliah. Besides, Bishop's touch was pleasant and comforting when she forgot that Raven was there.

"Great job in Winterhold, Aeyrin. I… I wish we could say the same about the Rift," Karliah sighed somberly.

"You failed to take the other hideout again?" Aeyrin raised her brow at Karliah. It was rather surprising. She had every mission down to the smallest detail, yet this place still eluded her. And how many more men could she afford to lose?

"Aye… it was… a great loss. Fortunately, a part of my forces retreated, but… not enough," Karliah let out a mournful sigh.

"Why didn't you tell me you were taking Lost Knife? I could have…" Bishop scowled at her, but he was interrupted instantly.

"You could have nothing," Karliah gave him a piercing frown. "You've already given me all the information you had on the cave system and the only thing that your presence there would achieve, would have been your death. A very slow and painful one, I suspect. Neither of you were allowed to take part in the assault for the same reason. You are too valuable to my operations and you are too valuable to the bandits. They want their revenge, they want their bounty, pick a reason. Regardless, you are not to be involved with that place," she frowned right back at Bishop rather sternly. She got so surprisingly commanding all of the sudden. It was quite uncharacteristic of her.

Bishop only gave her a somewhat pouty look in return. She was kind of right. And he was grateful that she was not planning on resorting to using Aeyrin and her 'special abilities' to finally conquer that place.

"After the ambush on the road, I suggest that both of you try to avoid the vicinity of Lost Knife until I am successful. After I manage to regain my forces." Karliah looked down on the table again, but this time she was not staring at the papers. She seemed to be lost in mournful thoughts.

"Ambush?" Bishop raised his brows and he turned his eyes to Aeyrin instantly.

"Yeah… I told you that I met the Vigilants of Stendarr? I was traveling with them on the road to Ivarstead and we got ambushed by the bandits. They… said something about avenging Thorn," Aeyrin sighed in response.

"They attacked a group of Vigilants? Fuck…" Bishop cringed. Everyone was so surprised about that. But, then again, the Vigilants were certainly formidable.

There was another moment of silence and Aeyrin got worried that it would turn into another uncomfortable wordless exchange but, luckily, Bishop interrupted it himself this time.

"While we're on the subject, we could probably use some updates. There were… not a lot of places we could show our faces in lately... with the bounties. But…" he gave Karliah a hopeful look. With her operations progressing and Mercer's influence waning, it was possible that some places that they've considered off limits before now were currently safe enough. Karliah would know best though.

"Aye. Of course. Let's see," the Dunmer nodded and shuffled some papers around until she uncovered a large map with countless markings on it. It was impossible to make sense out of it, but she seemed to have no trouble at all finding her way in there.

"I assume you are concerned about visiting cities? Wilderness is hardly any more or less dangerous for the two of you, if you avoid the vicinity of Lost Knife. That is the only place where the remnants of Thorn's gangs reside, as far as I know," she pointed towards the area near Fort Amol which was barely visible under all the notes and marks. Then she started to point towards the different cities.

"Whiterun is all clear, as far as I know, but… well… this bounty is beyond my influence," she gave a regretful look to Bishop, who only shrugged his shoulders morosely. "Other places that should be safe from any of Mercer's associates are Morthal, Dawnstar and now Winterhold, Falkreath and Solitude. See? Plenty of options already," Karliah smirked.

"Windhelm is… tricky," she continued. "We have absolutely no foothold in that area and one of the more influential families there, the Shatter-Shields, are supposed to be associates of Mercers, but… the city is… in unrest. The business has been somewhat halted and the security raised. You've heard about the murders, aye?" she waited for the two of them to nod at her. "It made it difficult for me to establish a foothold and for Mercer to conduct his business. Suffice it to say, neither of us has much influence in Windhelm right now, and the only danger there would be from a Shatter-Shield daring enough to claim the bounty… but… it would not really even come to that, right?" Karliah raised her brow at Aeyrin.

They've never told her of Aeyrin's banishment, but it was hardly surprising that she knew. She seemed to know everything. Besides, there was hardly any reason to hide this. Aeyrin simply nodded at her in agreement.

"Unfortunately, that is another issue that I cannot resolve for you. Well… I suppose there is no reason for you to be wary in Windhelm, Bishop," Karliah shrugged before she continued travelling around the map with her finger. "Markarth. Now… the Silver-Bloods… you know about the Silver-Bloods, of course. Some of my forces have been working steadily on removing Thorn's men from the Silver-Blood mines. They leave the mines and the workers alone, but they slaughter the bandits. It will be a slow going, especially since I don't have that many combat-ready men available after the failed operation at Lost Knife, but, eventually, there will be nothing that Mercer can offer the Silver-Bloods anymore. Until then… I'd suggest you steer clear of the place, Aeyrin. There is no guarantee, of course, that they would not attempt to claim the bounty even if they disassociated with Mercer, but… if I manage to amass enough men, I would actually be interested in striking a deal with them myself. Perhaps if we ever manage to get Maven on our side, her mercenaries could… hmmm…" Karliah seemed to suddenly get lost in her own thoughts. She grabbed a quill from the table and started to scribble something on a blank piece of parchment. She was likely wary that whatever idea was born in her head would evade her later, lest she wrote it down.

"So… Riften?" Bishop interrupted her scribbling. Karliah raised his index finger at him so that he'd be patient while Aeyrin scoffed at him mockingly. As if they could freely move about the city above the Guild! Especially after the ambush at the safehouse.

"Right… Riften," Karliah nodded determinedly when she finally set aside her quill and looked up at them. "That is actually something we need to discuss. But first… we need to clear up some… issues." Her eyes quickly darted to each one of them before they rested on Raven. She seemed to consider something, before she subtly waved her hand in dismissal of whatever notion that had passed through her head, and turned her gaze back to Aeyrin and Bishop.

This sounded serious. They both gave her a questioning look and waited for her to continue.

"Look… your personal life is none of my concern, aye, but I need to make arrangements. I'm the one who works on your cover stories and the guises that you need to present yourselves under on the missions. So, I need to know if I can send you on missions in the same cities without risking you getting caught up in… whatever conflicts you two currently have. And I need to know if I can send you to the same cities without risking raising suspicion about it… so…" Karliah gestured pointedly to the two of them as they sat close to each other with Bishop hand still idling on Aeyrin's neck. "What is this?"

Raven rolled his eyes with a disgruntled scoff while Bishop and Aeyrin stared at her in surprise.

"Wait… you purposefully didn't send us to the same places for the missions?" Bishop raised his brow at Karliah instead of answering. He did nothing to withdraw his hand from Aeyrin though, despite her predictable embarrassed fidget and the blush on her cheek after being put on the spot like that.

"Aye. Of course. I often need more agents in one place as there are numerous phases to take care of, and you two are too high-profile. You realize that your private lives are the public's favorite topic of conversation, yes? Granted, the rumors are too varied, but I cannot risk having you appear together for the missions only. Someone might put two and two together. Mercer knows that you both work for me and if one of his agents sees the two of you in one place, while you are rumored to be traveling separately any other time, they may connect the dots and snoop around too much. Besides, it was quite enough to see how you behaved the last time I saw the two of you together. Bringing attention to yourselves by bickering is not exactly the kind of thing I would want to happen during a mission."

There was another long moment of silence as they all stared at her. Even Raven was giving Karliah a rather disturbed look.

"Fucking Void… that's… a stretch. Don't you get tired of thinking about every measly little detail like that?" Bishop chuckled at her after a while. How did she even think of improbable eventualities like this? She worried about every little imperfection in her plans becoming a hindrance. It was kind of surprising that she took their numerous blunders on the missions in stride when they were revealed. She always seemed to care about results mainly, but still took meticulous care to count on every eventuality and on every possible hitch beforehand. Maybe she needed it for her own piece of mind. That was what Bishop had been doing most of his time apart from Aeyrin, after all – tying up the tiniest loose ends that were overlooked by Karliah's agents, just to give her some piece of mind. Not that he didn't appreciate the meticulousness when it came to their own safety, but it sounded beyond exhausting.

"I just need to know what can be traced back to us. You do realize that we're often breaking the law, right? You do know how investigations work, right? Any little detail can be used against you. I cannot use agents that are constantly on the run. Look how convenient that is for you!" Karliah snapped at Bishop.

She kind of had a point there. If they acted too out of the ordinary, or drew too much attention without intent, or if they even appeared in numerous places simultaneously without meeting anywhere else in the meantime, it could appear suspicious – either for Mercer's people, or for the authorities. Karliah didn't know how often or how publically they've been meeting. It was understandable that she needed to keep up the general dynamic to avoid suspicion.

"Uh… it's fine, Karliah," Aeyrin stammered a bit, eager to put an end to this conversation. "Things are… well… we're together again." It was rather uncomfortable to discuss this in front of Raven, although Bishop had hardly been subtle about their relationship during the meeting. And she had told Raven everything before. He knew all this already. Yet he was still looking at Bishop with palpable disdain and hate.

"Good. Good to know. And… congratulations, I suppose," Karliah smirked a little. "It is actually perfect for me. You two worked quite well as a team for our purposes, with your different skillsets and the attention you can draw," she chuckled briefly before a sly smirk decorated her face. "In fact, it is perfect for our new phase. I will need the both of you to start it off… Raven, would you stop glaring, please? It is distracting."

Bishop snorted in amusement at Karliah's chastising remark, but Raven's expression didn't change in the slightest. In a few moments, he grabbed a quill and scribbled on a paper with palpable strain in his clenched hand.

.

You better be fucking nice to her.

.

Bishop only smirked at his attempt to sound menacing. A malicious grin spread on his face as he shook his head at Raven while his hand stopped its gentle movements on Aeyrin's skin and instead, gripped at the side of her neck possessively.

"'Nice'? Nah. She likes it rough."

"Bishop!" Aeyrin's face turned bright red and she instantly slapped his hand away from her. Did he really just say that?! He was so petty and childish! He apparently didn't care how much he embarrassed her, as long as he could piss off Raven. Besides, it wasn't even true! Well… not entirely. She just liked it when he got… really passionate. Why would he say it like that? Gods, he was probably just saying that to purposefully rile Raven up, but her reaction might have made it worse. She should have laughed instead. Now it was too late and she could only slide a little lower in her seat and try to cover her burning cheeks with her hand.

She expected Karliah to chastise them instantly and Raven to glare daggers at Bishop, but instead, surprisingly enough, Karliah stayed quiet as her lips gently quirked upwards in subtle amusement while Raven's face turned visibly red with a strangely faraway glance.

"Hey! Stop imagining it, you tit! You got more than you're worth from her already, not like you deserve some fantasy fodder to boot," Bishop snarled at Raven's expression instantly.

"Bishop! Seriously! I asked you not to do this!" Aeyrin quickly retorted. She kind of expected him the bring that kiss up, but it still made her angry. Things were fine and resolved between her and Raven! There was no need to drag this out!

But, then again, the glare that Raven had been wearing the entire evening would suggest otherwise.

Before Bishop could respond with some excuse, Raven turned another parchment towards them.

.

That's right, asshole. I hope you remember that every time you even get near her now.

.

"Raven!" Aeyrin stared at him incredulously. Those two were impossible to deal with in the same room. They constantly resorted to the mind-state of children, apparently.

"Mistress's mercy…" Karliah planted her face into her palm in exasperation.

"Don't flatter yourself, dipshit!" Bishop barked at Raven. "As if anyone would spare you even a thought when they don't have your stupid mug in their face. And besides…" he continued to growl angrily, but he was soon interrupted again.

"Enough!" Aeyrin shot them both a furious glare. Her face was still bright red and burning, but now she wasn't sure if it was from anger or embarrassment. She kind of suspected that things would get heated between these two, but this was beyond uncomfortable. And did they seriously need to make this kind of a scene in front of Karliah too?

"Aye. Please, let us get to the missions," Karliah shook her head at them in admonishment. Both Bishop and Raven still glared at each other, but, at least, they stayed quiet now.

"Well… now… to the point then," Karliah quickly took one of the papers in her hand, but she still kept throwing warning glances to the two of them on occasion. "We have almost cracked Gallus's code now. Some symbols still elude us, but we have enough to have been able to decipher parts of his journal. It speaks about a plan that Mercer has been obsessed with for years. He is after some kind of a… treasure. It was unclear what this treasure was but the journal said that it would have been worth as much as buying a whole city, probably. Gallus had been helping Mercer find this treasure, for the good of the Guild, but they kept it from the other members meticulously. They were worried that someone would uncover their plans and get the treasure first. That they would take it for themselves instead of investing it in the Guild. In the end… it appears that they've hit a wall and Gallus was convinced that there was no point in continuing the search. But for some reason, Mercer wouldn't give up on it. If… if my suspicions are correct, he is still looking for it and… we need to stop him from reaching his goals."

"Aren't we more concerned about the Guild? Why even bother with some treasure? If you want to take over the Guild, let Mercer have it, then you can take it when we deal with him, right?" Aeyrin pondered after a while. She realized that Karliah was meticulous about foiling every one of Mercer's plans, but this seemed like a waste of time.

"Think of what he could do if he had the funds. All our work would be undone. He wouldn't need Maven, he would hire mercenaries or more bandit clans. And the Guild members would be clamoring to get a piece of his fortune," Karliah shook her head with palpable concern in her eyes. She did have a point about that.

"This was over ten years ago. Why do you even assume he's still looking for it?" Bishop scowled.

"Because recent events have led me to that conclusion," Karliah scowled "You see, one thing that Gallus mentioned in the journal several times is a reference to the Dwemer. Whether the treasure is Dwemer, or its location is in one of the Dwemer cities, I do not know, but what I do know is that there is an expert on Dwemer culture at the College, Arniel Gane. Enthir recently reported that the man had some ancient scripts and books stolen from him. That wouldn't be so telling, if the theft did not have strange circumstances. See… Arniel has some… safe. A Dwemer one, with an intricate mechanism which requires several components to work and several objects inserted into specific slots… it's just… a lot. Yet Arniel thinks that none of these objects were even moved and that there is absolutely no sign of any forced approach. The same goes for the College gate of course."

"How is that possible?" Aeyrin raised her brows at Karliah.

"The Skeleton Key," Bishop murmured in response instead.

"Aye. It is said to open anything. That applies to both ancient Dwemer mechanisms and a magical gate with no actual lock or a keyhole," Karliah nodded knowingly. "There is another thing. Reports from Riften claim that Mercer had some workers upgrade the security of his house in Riften. Since he would keep his treasure hunt as far from the Guild member's eyes as possible, I assume that there is a connection. I assume that he has made progress with his research that led him to Arniels's material, upon which he ensured that his plans and notes are safe and secure in his mansion."

"That… kinda makes sense," Bishop nodded. It seemed possible. The theft at the College really did seem to point to the Skeleton Key, and the raised security seemed suspicious – especially since Mercer's remaining funds and Maven's support would have been better used to replenish his 'army's' numbers after most of the bandits have been decimated. There must have been something beyond important in his house. "Let me guess. You want to pay Mercer's house a little visit?" he smirked at Karliah.

"Aye. Indeed," she smiled. "But we need to be careful with this. Mercer cannot know what we are planning. For this, we need to find out more about his security upgrades. So… you two are to go to Riften. Aeyrin, I would like you to approach some of the more… elite people in the city. You see, I would have you purchase a house in Riften."

What? She was supposed to buy a house? Aeyrin felt like she was suddenly in a completely different conversation from before. It didn't make any sense.

When Aeyrin's eyes widened at Karliah, she quickly started to explain further: "It is reasonable enough for you to have a base to retreat to in your travels. You already have one in Whiterun. Do not, worry, I will provide some funds for you, but… please try to buy a cheap one," she smirked at Aeyrin. "We may use the house later for some of our operations, but right now, I don't plan on moving any of them to Riften outright. So do as you see fit with the place," she smiled, but none of it still explained anything.

"Now, there's a point to this," Karliah continued. "After you do that, you should approach some of the nobility who own the large mansions in the city. You need to pretend that you are looking for the best security you can get for your treasures, and hopefully, this will eventually lead you to the same group of workers and contractors that Mercer had used. There can't be that many in the city and Mercer would use the best of the best for his own security," Karliah explained.

Huh. So she was really supposed to buy a house? That was unexpected. But it was not as if this was a generous gift from Karliah – the Dunmer would take it for herself eventually. This was just pretending, a guise, like always. Aeyrin just needed to look like she was trying to secure a peaceful base for herself in Riften.

"W-wait… Riften? Can we go to Riften? What about the bounty? What about the guards and the court? Aren't they in Mercer's pocket?" Aeyrin scowled at her.

"No, Aeyrin. They're in Maven's pocket," Karliah smiled at her. "Now that you have taken care of that problem, the guards and the nobility should give you no trouble. The only threat would come from the Guild, but, like I said, a large number of them are against the bounty on your name. Mercer would not be able to keep you in the cistern or the warrens without a large uproar. If you stay in populated areas and are careful not to get ambushed, you should be safe."

Well, that was somewhat comforting. Mercer's stranglehold on everything has really crumbled after taking Maven away from him and after ridding him of most of the bandits.

"As for your part, Bishop," Karliah continued as she turned to him. "I do hope that Aeyrin can manage to track down the specific people that we need to narrow your search, but if not, Raven has managed to charm his way into procuring some documents that detail every worker and contractor in Riften. I want you to spy on these people or to steal from them. You need to get as much information as you can from them about the actual job and the specific security measures in Mercer's house, without it being traced back to you. Eavesdrop, bribe, or threaten whoever you need, but I need to know what we're dealing with. We cannot be caught off guard in the mansion. And I need you to make sure that none of your investigation gets back to Mercer."

Bishop nodded. There wasn't much specific information and instructions this time, but he was good at improvising anyway. Something would come up.

"My original idea was to have you gather information with the servers at Haelga's Bunkhouse – the customers often get chatty and complain about their work there, but… I suspect that it would no longer be believable. And even if we had Aeyrin leave town… well… I wouldn't want to create any unpleasant rumors for you two in Riften as well," Karliah smirked

"What? I don't get it. What rumors? What's Haelga's Bunkhouse?" Aeyrin gave her a confused expression. Bishop and Raven smirked at that instantly while Karliah's face became decorated by an enigmatic smile.

After a few brief chuckles from the three of them, Karliah started to explain: "It is an… establishment, that provides a certain…"

"It's a brothel," Bishop interrupted her with an amused smirk.

"Oh… there's a brothel in Riften?" Aeyrin raised her brows in surprise. She'd never noticed any building there that would look like a brothel. Not that she'd know what a brothel in Skyrim would look like.

"There're brothels in lots of places. You just gotta know where to look," Bishop elaborated before his remark got met with an uncomfortable silence while Aeyrin peered at him with an uncertain expression. "Not… that I'd know."

Raven laughed maliciously in an instant, but Bishop only responded with a dismissive scoff.

"Why would I have wasted money like that? I never had a problem getting women on my own. Raven was a frequent patron though… always claimed that he was 'spying'," he chuckled meanly.

Raven scowled as he quickly scribbled something to retort.

.

I WAS!

.

"Riiight," Bishop laughed, which elicited another subtle amused quirk of Karliah's lips.

"Where is this brothel? I never noticed it," Aeyrin still wondered. How did they get any customers if people didn't know about it?

"It's right by the northern gates, but it's not like it has a sign. It's mostly a real bunkhouse for workers around Riften, but they provide other services. Don't get your hopes up, it's nothing like the one on Tiber Septim Plaza," Bishop grinned at her. By her interested look, she was probably thinking about something fancy like that. The Bunkhouse was a far cry from that.

That was actually what Aeyrin had been imaging. Everyone used to clamor to get into the Imbel's House of Mirth. It was one of the most luxurious places in the Imperial City. They've had bards and dancers and actors perform there every evening, and rumor had it that there were some more raunchy performances held there every midnight. She doubted that Bishop had ever been there – he probably couldn't have dreamed of scrounging up the money for that back when he was still in Cyrodiil. He mentioned that it was ten years ago that he'd left, back when he knew nothing but the bandit life of his family. But everyone at least knew about that place, rich or poor.

"You know, I got enough money to see a performance there one evening," she beamed proudly. She'd always wanted to go there. What better way was there to honor the Dibellan arts?

Bishop raised his brow at her with a hint of a palpably surprised look.

"A bard! A… clothed bard," she confirmed instantly while her face flushed again, earning a light chuckle from the three of them. "He had a lot of dirty songs though," Aeyrin giggled. "I even wrote one down." She really liked the song and the melody, but it was not as if she would ever dare to perform it in front of people. She just kept it with all her other songs in her journal as a memento. It was an interesting evening and she felt proud of herself that she earned enough money from her adventuring back then that she actually had enough to spare for something like this, silly or not.

"You know a dirty song? How come I've never heard it?!" Bishop gave her an exaggeratedly incredulous stare.

"R-right… like I'm gonna perform that one," she chuckled a bit. She could still feel her cheeks burning.

"A private performance then," he winked at her, which only elicited a groan from Raven as he rolled his eyes disdainfully.

"This is quite outrageous," Karliah smiled at her slyly. "We share plots, secrets and conspiracies with you and we don't even get an interesting song in return?"

"I thought you get dead dragons and thugs in return," Aeyrin smirked in retort.

"Aye… I suppose those will have to suffice then," Karliah shook her head dejectedly. She started to shuffle around her papers until she located two envelopes and gave one to Bishop and Aeyrin each – their detailed instructions, lists of names and any other notable information. "I suppose I shouldn't really keep you longer. I wouldn't want the thugs and dragons to get lonely," she snickered briefly.

"Actually, can we stay?" Bishop asked her without sparing a glance to Raven's disgruntled expression.

"I thought that you might want to," Karliah inclined her head to them, pointing out their haggard states after their ordeal on the road. "One of us can stay in a bedroll and I'm sure that Raven won't mind you taking his bed for the night, right Raven?" She gave him a challenging look.

Instead of nodding, Raven quickly scribbled something down.

.

I have a better idea. How about I keep my bed and Aeyrin can stay with me. Bishop can fuck off and get himself hanged in Whiterun for all I care.

.

"How about I cut off something else of yours so you don't get any of these stupid ideas anymore," Bishop smirked at him maliciously. He was instantly met with another note.

.

You should really come up with a different threat already. It's getting boring.

.

"Oh don't worry, I have plenty of them. I need to decide which one to make good on," Bishop sneered.

"Thank you, Karliah," Aeyrin quickly interrupted their tiresome exchange. "And thank you for the bed, Raven," she looked at Raven pointedly, eliciting a nod and pout from him. "We'll leave you to your work."

She got up from her chair and she started dragging Bishop forcefully from his to end his exchange with Raven.

As if the damn World-Eater hadn't been exhausting enough.