Chapter 9: Best Laid Plans

Ria shoved a wooden sword into the ground at the head of the empty, half-dug grave. For now, it was to serve in the place of a headstone until a proper one could be procured. Jared's body would be arriving in the afternoon, and she'd risen early in the morning to get a start on the grave. It was more work than it looked; even when they were ten years younger and more full of life, it had still taken Jared and Ria the entirety of two days to dig four graves. After the funeral, she was going to bury him herself. They had done it for their parents; she could do it for him.

As the sun reached it's peak in the sky, prompting a break, she drew her daggers, bone-handle knife in one hand, Blade of Woe in the other, and began to dance. She flowed across the ground, spinning and leaping, slashing at opponents that weren't really there and twirling around blows that no one else could see. She was still dancing when Lucian came across her, and for a moment he stopped to observe the odd scene. There was Ria, looking like she was in the fight of her life, without another soul in sight. Behind her were four graves, tombstones slightly worn with time, set in pairs about ten feet apart; in between them was rather large hole in the ground, a wooden sword forming a cross at it's head. To the right of them all about thirty yards was the burned ruins of a building, now only charred timbers fallen in a heap.

Ria stopped when she realized the Listener was there, letting her hands fall to her sides as her chest heaved for breath. They were at the base of the mountains that bordered the Whiterun plains, not far from the Pelagia family farm, making the ground vary in altitude and forcing Lucian down a slight hill to get to her.

"Ria, I thought you should know, we've-" his words were cut short by the blade that rested against the hollow of his neck. His eyes flickered down to the weapon, then back up to the assassin at the other end of it.

"Pull what you did at Riverwood again, Lucian," the knife-tip came up, just barely grazing the Listener's adam's apple before it was pressed into the underside of his chin, "And you can find yourself another damn Speaker. I take contracts, I don't murder kids."

Lucian pushed the knife away with two fingers. "I don't see a difference."

"You wouldn't." The dagger came back up to his chest. "I mean it, Lucian. You want me to be your Speaker, you show me more respect than that."

He held her gaze for a moment before pushing the blade away again. Ria let it dropped, and when Lucian finally nodded, she sheathed it. Another quick glance at him- taking in if he meant it or not- and she was satisfied, turning to pick up a shovel and resume digging earth from the six-foot-long, three-foot-deep hole.

After a stretch of silence followed, Ria asked, "Was it necessary?"

"Ria, let me show you something." The Listener said, circling around to the head of the grave and sitting down next to the wooden sword, feet dangling over the edge of the hole and almost touching the bottom. The half-Imperial stopped her digging to look up.

Lucian was unbuckling the Black Hand from his forearm. When it was free, he tossed it to Ria. She caught it reluctantly, glancing from Lucian to it. The purple gems that lined the gauntlet had changed color slightly, seeming to be tainted black at the centers, the darker color swirling slightly.

Ria tossed it back up to Lucian. "What happened to it?"

The Listener began strapping the gauntlet back on. "They're specialized black soul gems. They all have to be filled for the Hand to perform it's function. Thanks to Riverwood, they are." Lucian finished with the last strapped and looked up. "Every soul we send to the Void adds to the army- is necessary. But Riverwood was even more so."

Ria studied him for a moment. Here he was, trying to comfort her about what had happened, when he was the one who had ordered it in the first place. Perhaps he felt guilty about it, but the more likely scenario was that he saw she felt guilty, and was trying to assuage that feeling. Sociopath though he was, he was her closest surviving friend.

He was also doing horribly as apologies went, but the sentiment was there.

"What did you come out here to tell me?" she asked, resuming digging. As accepting apologies went, it was an abysmal attempt, but the sentiment was there.

There was silence for a minute. "Another Gate." Ria's spade hesitated above the ground, then dug in again. Lucian noted it, but didn't comment, instead continuing, "I tried to find you when Mother gave me the news, but…"

"I was out here. Couldn't sleep." Several shovel-fulls of dirt were emptied from the hole before she asked, "Where?"

"Windhelm."

Ria snorted. "You opened a hellgate in the capital? Tell me how that one works out. Anything else?"

"Yes, actually."

Ria sighed, digging the shovel into the ground and leaning on the handle. "Well, get on with it."

Lucian rolled his eyes dramatically before saying, "After Jared's funeral, we've been invited-" he hesitated, just a second, a marveling look on his face, "To the Void."

Ria blinked up at him, stunned. "The Void? Is that even possible?"

"Oh, ye of little faith. Anything is possible for our Father."

"We'll see."

Lucian shook his head. "We have things to do. Come, our brothers from the Void can finish this."

"They can also take dance lessons from Cicero. Doesn't mean they will."

"Ria-"

"You want to get this done faster, grab a shovel. I'm not leaving before I've got this grave dug."

Ria didn't look up, but there was silence for so long that she thought he'd left. Then he dropped down in the hole next to her, extra shovel in hand.


The funeral went better than Ria had hoped; everyone behaved themselves, and Lucian said a small speech. Then Babette and Ria told a few stories, and they had the viewing, which Lucian had moved to the end for reasons unknown- though Ria thought it was so she would be more likely to hold herself together through everything else.

She had, until that point; she hadn't shed a tear, and then she walked by the open casket and saw his face, too still, too peaceful, and all she could see was agony in his eyes when Maro ran him through.

That was the end of that, and Lucian sat with her on the top steps of Dragonsreach while the others said their final goodbyes. Coyle, Lynch, Cirion, and Cicero bore the oak coffin through the streets when everything was said and done, and set it in a horse-and-buggy cart that waited in the marketplace. Ria and Lucian climbed in the front, the former taking the reins, and they went back the grave they'd dug earlier. Between the two of them they were able to get Jared's coffin in it and fill the hole back in, and before long they were sitting at the head of the grave, Jared buried, watching the sun set.

The day seemed a blur; everything between digging the grave and sitting where she was now seemed distant, unreal. It was just starting to hit her, that she'd buried her best friend, that he was really and truly gone. It was like being punched in the stomach or thrown on her back, the kind of impact that knocked all the wind from her.

Lucian put a hand on her shoulder for a second, then stood and offered a hand up. "Lets go. We have a meeting to attend."

Ria let him pull her to her feet, taking one last look around. It would be another few years before she would bring herself to come back.


The assassins gathered in the war room, all of them donning their official red and black Dark Brotherhood armor. Lucian was once again wearing his impressive outfit of black leather armor that matched the Black Hand, the hood thrown down so the gold and onyx circlet could rest on his head. He had the jester at his left side, Ria at his right, and the others gathered behind him. They were in front of the war table, facing the giant double-doors that led out to the Great Porch, waiting on Lucian to do- well, whatever he was planning on doing.

The Listener must have decided it was finally time, because he stretched his left hand out- the one wearing the Black Hand- and pointed his palm towards the doors. Tension entered his body, focus his face, and the purple-black soul gems on the Hand started to glow ethereally. The hairs on the back of Ria's neck stood up, the same feeling as the night in Whiterun, and she knew what was going to happen the second before it did.

The familiar black rift opened in the air, black tendrils extending out and stretching the gate between the ebony pillars that formed. From the gate stepped a Void-creature, which no longer a surprising sight to Ria; she was around them all hours of the day now. It was because of this fledgling familiarity that it took only seconds for her to take in the difference between the thing before her, and the other, 'normal' Void demons.

The first thing was stature; the first thing that came to mind was that it was built like- of all things- an assassin, slim enough to graceful and just muscled enough to be solid. The second thing was it's eyes. They were solid red, like its fellows, but somehow intelligent, intense. She could see those eyes flickering everywhere, an unsettling thing on something that had no pupils or irises.

The third difference, and the most obvious one, was that it's left hand was severed about three inches below the elbow.

For some reason, Ria's eyes darted to the Black Hand as Lucian finally lowered said limb, back ramrod straight. He inclined his head politely.

"Welcome to Whiterun, Brother."

The creature's eyes darted to the assassin and stayed there. It had no mouth, so Ria jumped nearly out of her skin when she heard it speak- it's voice echoing from inside her head.

"We've been expecting you, Listener." It said, voice raspy- almost like the Black Door, but too deep to be an exact match.

"I know." Lucian said smoothly.

The Void-creature swept it's eyes over the gathered assassins. "Honored Keeper." it said, inclining it's head respectfully toward Cicero, as Lucian had done for it. It's eyes skipped over to Ria, nodding to her as well. "Speaker."

"Come. The portal won't stay open long." Lucian said.

The creature nodded, turned on it's heels, and stepped back through the lightless rift, it's form swallowed by darkness. Lucian took a step forward to follow it, the two Imperials staying at his side. He turned his head to look at Ria, smiling that wicked, predatory smile of his, and took another step, disappearing through the black, gate-like structure.

There was really no option but to follow him.

Once on the other side, Ria stood where she was, letting her eyes adjust to the dim light. Eyesight for the moment useless, it was only logic that made the assassin think she still possessed any of her other senses; there were no sounds, no breeze, no smell. It was empty, emptier than anything natural could be, and it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

The slow return of her sight only slightly assuaged the feeling. It wasn't as black as she had originally thought the Void was; there was light, dim but there. It glowed from a purple ethereal mist that hung over the ground and floated in random currents through the air, reminding her for all the world of the color that swirled through the Black Hand's soul gems. In the distance, stars twinkled, though their placements threw Ria; they were grouped closer to the ground, most not making it more than what she guessed was twenty feet above the horizon.

In this dim light, the half-Imperial could start to make out buildings, most in ruins, some still in the process of crumbling. Both the buildings and street were made out of a material that resembled ebony, black with a metal-like shine, though something about it- maybe the smoothness, maybe the sheer, impossibly dark color- set it apart. Ria turned in a circle, looking over her Brothers and Sisters to take in just how many structures there were; it took only seconds to realize they were in a city of some sort. The universe's most unsettling city, perhaps, with it's cold black surface and silent, eerie streets, but that was undeniably what it was.

That in itself begged a series of questions, but what came out of Ria's mouth was, "Stars in the Void?"

There was a heartbeat of silence before Lucian replied, "Those aren't stars."

"Then what-" Ria clamped her jaw set mid-sentence. There weren't many options of what could be in the Void. She glanced towards the horizon again, wondering if Jared was among those glowing dots of silver. "What is this place?

"The Black City. The Conduit can safely exist no other place in the Void."

"The Conduit? Is that the name of Stumpy up there?" Ria asked, nodding to the Void-demon in front of Lucian, forgetting that the Listener couldn't see the gesture in the dim lighting. His lack of eyesight didn't keep him from landing an elbow to her ribs.

"Show some respect." he hissed.

"Then explain what this Conduit is to deserve it." Ria growled back; there were very few things that commanded her instant respect, and another Void-dweller was not one of them.

The Conduit lurched into motion, a black form moving through the Black City. If she hadn't known where he was when he'd moved, she wouldn't be able to see him; his light-negating skin was the perfect camouflage in the Void, and all it would take was stillness for someone to walk right by him, never even aware of his presence.

Lucian followed on his heels, and Ria followed him. The dim light just barely caught the gold band of his circlet, giving her a beacon to stick with. As what were probably the first living mortals in the Void stalked their way through the streets of the Black City, the Listener heeded the half-breed's request, his voice the only sound audible in the nearly-blank plain of existence.

"None of the lore I've come across has ever given it another name. Some say it is the soul of Airdrie Stronach, the Night Mother's eldest, but regardless, it is the Conduit, the manifestation and liaison of the Dread Father. Once it steps foot on the earth of Nirn. It's the only thing that can both call forth the full extent of Father's army, and afterwards pull the rest of the Void into our plain."

"So why the city? You said the Conduit needed it."

"As it can appear in our world, something of our world must appear with it. It is forever linked to Nirn by the Hand. I don't know if it would survive being unlinked, or if it could avoid destruction if it didn't have even a twisted piece of Nirn around it."

Ahead, the Conduit turned into a building, though Ria wasn't completely sure if he actually had or if he'd just magically disappeared. But then Lucian turned as well, and she knew she had four walls around her because the light from the- she was going to call them *stars*, because the alternative was uncomfortable- had dimmed considerably.

From then on, it was really just a slightly odd strategy meeting. The Conduit did something, and the room was suddenly illuminated in purple by odd glowing gems set into the wall. For the most part, she kept silent, letting the two demons hash it out, throwing in her ideas when they were asked for or needed.

Hours passed before they were done, and Ria was starting to nod off. Images danced through her mind, half-dreams that she wouldn't remember when she woke.

Lucian's chair scraped back as he stood, jolting the half-Imperial awake. The others, long since bored and lounging around the room, stood as well, eager to do something. Ria pushed herself to her feet, running a hand through her hair.

Lucian was talking to the Conduit, trying not to yawn himself. "We'll do this again after we have Skyrim. It's time we returned to Nirn."

"I will go as well." The Conduit said. "There are more details that needs to be relayed to you." It's red eyes flickered over the Listener's shoulders, to the Family. "And you only."

Lucian nodded. "Very well. Would you do the honors of opening a portal?"

"I will. But you need to add more souls to the army. Tearing into Nirn from this side drains our numbers."

"The gate in Windhelm should replenish your losses just fine." Annoyance was starting to creep into the Listener's voice; he was more tired than he was letting on.

"The gate in the capitol has been closed."

The lighting gave Ria a perfect view of the shock that rippled across Lucian's face, and she decided the 'I told you so' could wait until later. Lucian recovered in seconds, though a muscle worked in his jaw. "We will have to take that into further consideration, then. Conduit, a portal, please."

The creature nodded, made a motion with it's hand, and a rift appeared in the wall to her left, spreading into the usual gate. Unlike in Nirn, where it was pitch-black, here light poured in, almost blinding after so long in dimness. When her eyes had adjusted, she could see Dragonsreach's war room, instantly longing for it's warmth; the Void wasn't so much cold as it was absent of temperature, and putting some heat back in her bones seemed a luxurious prospect.

Lucian went through first, though Ria was only a half-step behind him. The slight warmth of the palace was a stark change, and the gentle light was familiar, welcoming. It instantly dispelled the unease that had dogged her in the Void.

When everyone else was gathered behind her, and the portal starting to close, she stretched and said, "I'm going to bed, and I'd advise the rest of you to do the same."

Mumbles of consent were few and far between; some of the others had been napping during Lucian's meeting, as Ria had, and were still groggy, though Babette looked only more alert as the night passed. Still, protests were non-existent, and even Seba was to tired to do anything but shamble off down the stairs.

Ria glanced to Lucian. " At least try to be in bed before dawn."

"I'll attempt it." He said with a wry smile, promising nothing.

The half-Imperial trudged to her room, flopping down on top of the covers. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.


Ria was jerked awake by a nightmare. Voices floated down the hallway, distant and almost inaudible, but there nonetheless. She had no way of knowing how long she'd been asleep, but Lucian was obviously still awake, so she stumbled to her door, planning on using ordering the Listener to bed as a distraction from the lingering images of her dream. Ria stalked down the hall silently, listening to the voices grow in volume, now able to make out words. She froze when she heard Lucian's next words.

"We should tell them!" he nearly shouted, clearly angry.

"It is not necessary. Already the invasion has their loyalties wavering. This could turn some of them against us, and they know too much for that to be allowed."

Ria crouched where she was, taking shallow breaths so as not to be heard. She had spent enough time sneaking around other people's houses to recognize when a conversation held information important to her.

Ria heard Lucian's fist come down on the wood table. " I know my people! They will understand. You have to die to become truly part of the Void. So what? When we have won this war, the Void will be the only world left to them. Even those who fear death would be willing to let go of their mortal bodies to become rulers of New Nirn. If we explain that, give them time to come to terms, they will only fight harder for that future."

Crouched just down the hall from them, Ria's heart was thundering in her chest, beating so loud she was sure one of them had to hear it. Her stomach was in knots, her mind a whirlwind of thought. Lucian had promised they had nothing to fear, had promised they'd be kings and queens, and all the while he knew that they would die as well. All they had done and were planning to do for their Listener, and he was going to let them be executed after they expended their usefulness. Betrayal didn't begin to describe it.

"These orders are not appealable. If you disobey them, you disrespect the Night Mother and defy your Dread Father. Their decision is final. There is no lenience for rebellion in this situation."

The silence was tense. Even without seeing him, Ria could sense her friend's anger, knew the look that must be on his face. When he spoke, his voice was soft, and deadly.

"I would give my life before I would commit such sacrilege. It is only for the sake of my Mother and Father that you still stand after that implication. You are misinformed, both on the hearts of my Family and the extent I would take my disagreement to." There was another stretch of silence. "You have nothing to tell me that Mother could not. Get out."

The floorboards creaked as the Conduit shifted it's weight, and after a second the hairs on the back of Ria's neck rose, telling her a black gate had opened. There was silence for so long that Ria knew the creature had gone back to it's place of origin, long enough for the portal to have closed behind it, but Lucian didn't move for several minutes. When she heard his footsteps, light and inaudible to anyone not listening for them, she straightened and continued down the hall as though she'd heard nothing, an automatic response that wasn't hindered by the adrenaline pumping through her veins.

She rounded the corner and ran literally right into Lucian, making them both stumble. When they regained their footing and straightened, the Listener looked amused.

"If you want to trample me, you're going to have to try harder."

Ria plastered a haughty look on her face. "I just might. Do you know what time it is? I told you you should go to bed."

"Kings don't need to bedtimes."

"Good thing you're not a king."

Lucian laughed, strolling down the hallway she had just came from, and Ria walked with him, trying to match this Lucian, who laughed and jested with her, to the sociopath that wanted all of them dead when the invasion was over. "Not yet, maybe, but soon. I think I'd like to walk into the Palace of the Kings with my impressive Void army and take the throne from Ulfric. Like something out of a legend."

*This entire thing is out of a legend. The kind where little kids get eaten by monsters and gods throw temper-tantrums*, Ria thought.

"That would be an interesting sight." She replied, letting on to none of her thoughts. They came to the door to her room, and she put her hand on it, eager to get inside; she needed to pack her things, get out of the area as soon as possible. There were very few things worth her life, and this, an invasion that forced her to kill innocents and children and didn't even allow her to live through it, was low on that list.

At the start of this morning, though, Lucian had topped that list, and her stomach clenched. Her last true friend, and she was losing him as well; it was unlikely they would ever meet again, unless he came to kill her himself. The familiar wave of loneliness and emptiness washed over her, but she had too much experience with it now for it to do much more than make her glance over her shoulder at the Listener.

"You need to learn to take better care of yourself, Lucian." It was the closest she was getting to the goodbye she actually wanted to say. She hoped the thickening of her voice could be perceived as someone who was close to yawning instead of tears.

Lucian leaned on the doorway, inches away, smiling mockingly. "I'll take it in to consideration. Goodnight, Ria."

And then, in a shock to them both, he leaned forward, stopping himself an inch short of their lips touching.

Surprise and fear flashed across his face at his own actions, but there was no reversing them. It had been automatic, autopilot, something that logic probably usually caught. But sleep deprivation had turned logic off, just for that second, and now he was staring at her with those nearly-black eyes like a petrified puppy, waiting for her to make the next move. Her heartbeat soared through the roof instantly, higher by far than it had been in the hallway.

Ria's own logic slowed to a crawl as she double-guessed all her earlier decisions. What was wrong with having something to die for, a cause to be dedicated to? At least she would come out on top in the next world. At least she would have Lucian and the Family with her for all of it. When she'd finally made up her mind, she took her outside hand and placed it on Lucian's cheek, a tender gesture that made relief flood his face.

Then she slammed his head into the wall.

She caught the Listener's unconscious body before it could hit the floor, staggering under his weight, and dragged him into her room and dumped him on the bed. She grabbed her knapsack, unceremoniously shoving things into it; a set of regular clothes, a half-full canteen, her entire supply of Septims and what other jewels would fit, and both her and Jared's journals. She was packed and slipping out of the room in just under three minutes.

Ria paused at the door, looking back to Lucian. If she stayed now, she could apologize, play it off as panic. He couldn't deny that he'd caught her off guard. Her life here was still salvageable.

The problem was that there was no life here, not really. She couldn't murder her way through gods know how many innocents when it wouldn't gain her anything. She couldn't serve a cause knowing Lucian would betray her when it was completed. In this case, death wasn't nearly as scary as the time between now and whenever that date was, because she would have to live with herself during that time.

She was down the stairs and out the doors at a full sprint. The ever-present Void creatures paid her no mind; as far as they were concerned, she was on their side. Her mind was spinning as she jumped on a horse and set them off at a gallop, headed east, trying to think of where she could go. They would hunt her, that was certain. She needed a fortress.

Ria's gaze wandered up to the Throat of the World, always towering over the plains. A plan started to form; if she could get through Ivarstead and started up the steps before dawn, before witnesses were up, she could slip up to High Hrothgar undetected. She would have to be quick to make the journey, push her horse farther than was kind. The thought occurred to her that she would have to leave it somewhere away from Ivarstead; High Hrothgar had no place to keep a horse, and an unclaimed one showing up, saddled, in the town would be a clue to anyone tracking her.

Ria did the math. If she abandoned it at Valtheim Towers, the bandits would likely claim it, or anyone following would think it was theres. She would have to run the rest of the way- and run hard, if she wanted to make it before dawn as she needed to. It was going to be hard, but possible.

High Hrothgar was the perfect sanctuary: secluded, defended by weather and elevation, and with Voice-wielding men lining it's halls. She would get in somehow, with half-acted crying and begging if nothing else.

Then she would hunker down until all this craziness passed, and hope trouble didn't find her.