Most of Vex's life, she'd learned that if something seemed like it was too good to be true, it probably wasn't real, or there was some horrendous catch to it.
Everything Vess had set her up with - a couple fences, promise of work, and gods, the pay for just fetching a dagger and freeing a Nord - absolutely screamed 'too good to be true'. And yet, she'd seen it all, had gotten the chance to lay her fingers upon the map, had handed a couple of things to Ahzaja and Agvar both for them to sell off as legitimate. It was good - very good, in fact - and it was true.
So what was the catch? Vex couldn't figure it out. Her entire life, the best deals have had ridiculous conditions, crazy catches, and various other 'strings attached' problems that left her weary.
When Vess had said there was one final thing the trio wanted her to do for them, she suspected that that was the catch, that she was going to be asked to do something so absolutely dangerous that it would make her second-guess whether or not joining their budding guild was worth it.
Instead, it had been as simple as delivering a letter to someone staying at the Bee and Barb in Riften. She didn't even need to see the person in question; she could just hand it off to Keerava, and - with coin provided by Vess for such a matter - the proprietress would see it off to its intended recipient instead. It was so laughably easy, that Vex was starting to wonder if being asked to do this was a subtle insult, calling her an 'errand girl' without using the actual words. She had almost confronted Vess about it, asked her why she was being asked to do such a simple, mundane task, but decided not to jeopardize the brilliant future she would secure for herself if she just did it.
It wasn't some masterminded heist, but it was paying work. Vex wasn't about to argue with that.
As pleased as she'd been to have been paid so much, she had left the bulk of the payment behind at her new guild's headquarters, under the watchful eye of Vess. She knew enough about Riften to know that walking around with that much coin was definitely going to draw attention to her. She wanted to just get in, deliver the letter, and get out. She didn't want to see anyone from the Thieves Guild, especially not the Breton.
As she drew nearer to the northern gate of Riften, she thought about the Breton again. Who was he, exactly? There was no questioning he was a thief - he'd joined the Guild, after all - but what sort of thief allies themselves willingly with bandits and necromancers? Had he allied himself with the bandits first, just to lull them into a false sense of security - and to make the takeover by the necromancers even easier? Had he just managed to sweet-talk his way into the favor of the necromancers, as opposed to facing the same grisly fate as the bandits had faced? What was he planning, that required him to serve as a contact within the Guild? What were the necromancers planning? They had mentioned a lord... who was this 'lord' of theirs?
There were so many questions Vex wanted answers to, if only to sate her curiosity, but she wasn't truly so eager to know. She had a feeling such things were none of her business, anyway.
Theft. That was Vex's life, and she was going to stick to it. Getting herself involved in such matters as the necromancers' plotting would not spell out a bright future for her. Besides, if it meant more skulking around ruined forts, forced to endure the stench of rotting corpses and the reek of the undead, she wasn't sure she wanted any part of it anyway.
Passing the stables, Vex's gaze rested upon a group of people standing outside the northern gate. Her brow furrowed; was Brynjolf still running the 'visitors' tax' scam with the 'guards' he'd hired? But surely not everyone in the growing crowd was a newcomer to the city, nor were they so stupid or poor as to linger outside the city's gate... She suspected there was something else going on, and decided to get closer and listen in.
The commotion made it close to impossible to hear any one thing over another; words seemed to blend together and get lost in the cacophony. Still, Vex was able to make out such snippets as 'disaster', 'casualties' and 'restricted'. She bit her lower lip; that couldn't be good. What had happened to elicit such words as those?
She felt something rub up along her spine, sending shivers through her in the process. She turned her head to face the source - and was face-to-face with the Nord that had been with the Breton in the Cistern.
The Nord was smiling lightly at her. "Long time no see," she commented in a low tone.
"I... yeah." Vex knew the Breton was in places a simple thief ought not to be; was the Nord as well?
The Nord crossed her arms, then jerked her head a little toward the gate. "You hear what happened?"
"No."
"Someone went on a rampage in the city. Lot of people got hurt; some are dead." The Nord sighed softly. "The Jarl has barred entry to everyone outside the city so as to minimize casualties."
"Any idea who-"
The Nord shook her head. "I haven't been able to get back into the city, so I don't know. There's no word as to who went on the rampage, either. Seems like the guards are being asked to keep the peace by keeping the people in the dark." She stared at the gate for a time, a frown at her lips. "You want my opinion, I think it's vampires. I hear they've been getting bolder throughout Skyrim, so maybe..."
Vex didn't like the thought of that.
"So anyway, you haven't been in the city in a little while. How have things been with you?" The Nord's eyes were upon Vex once more.
The Imperial only quirked her brow. "You've been looking for me?"
"Well... to an extent, yes. I was mostly wondering if you just wanted to talk about how Mercer was treating you." She smiled reassuringly. "He was actually very surprised when you ran out and didn't come back. Honestly? I couldn't blame you."
"I'm fine now, thanks." Vex didn't want to talk about the Guild, and especially not Mercer.
"If you say so. If you change your mind, though, I stay in the Bee and Barb most of the time as of late. Sleeping in the Flagon..." The Nord shivered a little. "It's uncomfortable. Besides, I don't get letters and other messages down there."
Vex thought about her task. "If that's the case, then could I ask you to do something for me?"
The Nord looked surprised at the question, but nodded. "Of course."
She pulled out the letter, and handed it to the woman. "I've been asked to deliver this to someone staying in the Bee and Barb. Honestly, though, I don't think I'll be getting in anytime soon. You, on the other hand..."
The Nord gave a silent nod, and her eyes scanned the name written, in Vess' elegant writing, upon the front of the envelope - 'Carissa'. Her brow quirked, and she chuckled quietly. "Though... if you're asking me to deliver this letter to Carissa, that's a bit... unnecessary."
Vex wondered as to her words, and the realization dawned on her. "You mean..."
"I'm Carissa, yes." The Nord smiled at her once more, and bowed her head to her. "So Vess is almost ready to make her move, I see."
Vex thought about the Breton, and how he'd infiltrated the Thieves Guild for the necromancers. Had Carissa infiltrated the Thieves Guild, too, for Vess' sake? Either way, the thought that the Guild had been infiltrated not once, but twice made her chuckle a bit.
"How long have you known Vess?"
The question was not one Vex had been expecting. "Not very long. We first met when we..." She felt her cheeks burn a bit in embarrassment. "Stole each other's coin purses. That was... maybe four days ago now."
Carissa chuckled softly.
"It's not funny." Vex couldn't help but realize that, looking back at it, it really was sort of funny.
"No, I'm just... you're both such talented thieves, but apparently the thought of being stolen from while you're stealing doesn't cross either of your minds."
Carissa had led Vex away from Riften's northern gate, toward where the Khajiit caravan had set up for the evening, and presumably the next day. At first, Vex had been wary of speaking of such matters around the Khajiit, but Carissa had reassured her that the Khajiit were friends of Vess, and thus could be trusted. Vex wondered if it would stay that way, should the Thieves Guild ever recover its former glory again.
The Nord had 'acquired' a roll of paper, a quill and an inkwell, and was writing out a response to the letter she'd received and read. Vex had wanted to know, but not even reading it over Carissa's shoulder had achieved anything; it was written in a code Vex didn't understand. As the Nord wrote, Vex noticed her writing was almost as elegant as Vess' own writing was - and that she was writing in the same code.
"So why the code?" Vex asked, unable to restrain her curiosity any longer.
"Because until Vess, Za, Agvar, you and I can get off the ground and truly take flight, we need to maintain a low profile." Carissa didn't seem offended at the question; she didn't even look up as she replied, opting instead to continue writing. "The Thieves Guild may be down on its luck, but it's hardly out of the picture entirely. Until they're either gone, or our dominance is asserted, we can't afford to risk our own plans being uncovered."
"You think I'm going to tell anyone?" Vex asked, sounding quite offended.
"It's not that so much as it is the fact that I've infiltrated the Thieves Guild. Who's to say they haven't done the same in kind?" Carissa looked up at this, a grim expression upon her face. "You'll notice I only named off five people. That's because only the five of us are actually members of the group. Those bandits at Faldar's Tooth? They're, for the most part, trying to reform, and we permit them to stay and keep would-be meddlers away from our headquarters."
"The bandits are-"
"In Vess' pocket, yes." Carissa grinned lightly, then looked down to continue writing. "Guardians of the group, yet not part of it." Her grin faded slowly. "But... he who can be bought with coin can oftentimes be bought by another, larger offer. I doubt the Guild even suspects the presence of a new up-and-coming guild, and I highly doubt they even have the coin to pay bandits to infiltrate said guild... but until we know that for certain, we all agree that the bandits aren't to be trusted completely. They'll continue to work for us as long as we pay them."
Vex knew it made sense, but was wondering why she, who was technically part of the up-and-coming guild, hadn't been introduced to this code yet.
"She'll teach you when you return," Carissa said, as if she'd read Vex's mind. "Or maybe she'll have Za, who first brought the code to us, teach it to you instead. Either way, don't worry; you have Vess' trust, and thus you have mine. You won't be kept out of the loop."
Vex wasn't completely satisfied with the answer, but she nodded regardless. "So, let me turn the question around on you..."
"Oh?"
"How long have you known Vess?"
Carissa smiled. "Years. I ran into trouble in Valenwood several years ago. Vess found me, helped me get out of Valenwood, and we kept in touch while things quieted down. Once my pursuers gave up searching for me, Vess left Valenwood as well, and... well, we've been partners since. I owe her my life, and figure I'll repay that debt one job at a time."
"So what can you tell me about-"
Carissa shook her head at the question, cutting the Imperial off. "No. It's not my place to share her history with you. If you want to know, ask her. She only speaks of herself to those she trusts completely, and only when asked. She does not take kindly to others talking about her past in her stead, nor would she expect anyone else to do the same with others."
Vex pursed her lips and crossed her arms. For thieves, Vess, Za, Agvar and Carissa had all proven trustworthy enough... but would they remain so? There were definitely secrets she wasn't privy to yet, even despite being part of the group...
"Is this group a 'guild'?" she finally asked.
"We're looking to become a guild, yes. That will take time, obviously, and we'll have very stiff competition from the Thieves Guild all the while. That's why I was sent to infiltrate the Guild - to keep track of how much they know about other thieves throughout... well, Tamriel, really, but mostly Skyrim." She set the quill down, and began to fan the ink upon the paper with a hand, so as to dry it faster.
"If the Guild does find out-"
"Then it's my job to misdirect them as best as I can, without rousing suspicion," Carissa finished, grinning devilishly at Vex. "I have no doubt they're capable, but I didn't escape the clutches of Valenwood justice by making mistakes."
Vex's curiosity was increasing rapidly, and she could no longer hold the question back. "What did you do in Valenwood?"
"That's a tale for another time, my friend." She winked at Vex, and tapped her fingers gingerly to the ink; a glance at her fingertips told her the ink had dried enough that it wouldn't smudge, and she began to fold the paper gently. "For now, though, our mutual friends would like my response."
Friends. Vex hadn't really had any in a long time. She'd had coworkers and colleagues she got along very well with, but had she ever considered any of them 'friends'? The more she thought about it, the less certain she became.
"Vex?"
She blinked as Carissa spoke her name, head tilted to one side in curiosity. "Sorry, I'm..." She noticed the paper, folded neatly in half, extended toward her, and took it carefully. "You... called me your friend. Are we really-"
"You'd rather not be? And here I thought we'd get along so very well," Carissa said with a light pout at her lips. Her tone was such that Vex wasn't sure if she was being serious or not.
"It's not that, it's just... unusual for me to hear." She sighed softly. "I... don't think I've ever had any real friends, so it's..."
"I see." Carissa stood slowly, and stretched her limbs for but a moment. "Well, you may consider me your friend; I consider you mine." She smiled warmly at Vex. "Unless you object?"
"No, not at all." Vex nodded lightly toward her new friend and fellow thief, and gestured lightly with the paper in her hand. "I should be getting back now."
"Of course. Shadow hide you, Vex."
A.N. - So on the one hand, I got over the writer's block I was suffering for the past few weeks... on the other, my writing quality slipped because of it. Maybe i's not so notable here, but it definitely seems like it's noticeable in a certain other story's next chapter.
I was not pleased with this chapter, all told, and yet I didn't want to inundate it with stuff. The biggest point of 'concern' for me was whether or not to introduce Carissa already, and pin her allegiance one way or the other. As you can see, I did decide to include it and introduce her, so there's that.
Not a lot to say here, admittedly. I'll work a LOT harder on the next chapter of All In, I can say that with certainty.
-Spiritslayer
