Much to the displeasure of Vess, their carriage had to make a stop in Whiterun for a couple days and nights, which meant they were stuck waiting a bit longer to reach Solitude. Vex wasn't entirely sure why the driver needed a couple of days, and her questions had gone unanswered... if not given the vaguest reasons imaginable. Forced to accept the fact that the driver was taking a couple days and that Vess had paid him for the trip to Solitude, they decided to make the most of the unexpected delay. This meant going over their plan once they reached the Embassy.
The schedule saw a lot of use in particular. It showed guard shifts, and when paired with the blueprint, even went so far as to outline the patrols. In other words, they had a pretty good idea as to what they could expect. Nothing was perfect, though; anything and everything could go wrong. The schedule, after all, would be almost a month old by the time they arrived, and things could very easily change in that time.
Even so, they decided it was best to assume one thing and risk being wrong than to go in blind and without any sort of idea as to what they'd expect.
There was one scenario that concerned Vess the most, however, and that scenario was one neither of them had control over.
"If they said the ship would arrive in a month's time, then I don't really think it's going to get there sooner," Vex was saying. Part of her believed it, but part of her also shared Vess' concern that the ship to Summerset would arrive before they did, receive the Crown, and sail away. There was absolutely nothing they could do about it, either.
"The Thalmor say a lot of things," Vess grumbled, swirling her mug of mead idly with one hand; her chin rested upon her other arm, crossed in front of her and resting upon the table between them. "They aren't always true."
Vex decided not to argue with that, and instead glanced toward the doorway to make sure no one was trying to listen in.
Seeing whereas the carriage driver was insistent on staying in Whiterun a couple of days, Vess had rented the upstairs room at the Bannered Mare for that period of time. They typically took their meals on the small balcony overlooking the rest of the inn, and otherwise made great use of the table. Though the din downstairs was loud enough to reassure both of them that they wouldn't be overheard by anyone downstairs, the doorway leading from the balcony back into their rented room wasn't quite so far away. If anyone wanted to eavesdrop, it wouldn't be particularly difficult.
"No sense dwelling on it, I guess," Vess finally sighed out, sitting upright and lifting her mug off the table. She brought it to her lips, but didn't tilt it to drink, instead apparently choosing that moment to appear thoughtful.
"Back at the base," Vex began slowly, but she stopped after a moment, primarily because Vess turned her thoughtful gaze upon her. Ever since they'd left Faldar's Tooth, Vex had been burning to know more about Vess' past... specifically, what the wood elf had meant when she said she'd come close to self destructing. There hadn't been ample opportunities to ask about it on the road, and even though they now had literally nothing more to do but sit and wait, Vex wasn't sure asking about it was a good idea.
Apparently, Vess was curious herself, for she gestured for Vex to continue with her free hand. With the silent invitation to go on, Vex steeled herself and pressed on.
"When you... you almost self destructed?"
Vess lowered her mug slowly - and revealed the small frown at her lips. Vex was ready to tell the wood elf to forget she'd mentioned it, but to her surprise, Vess nodded.
"What does that even...?"
"Mean?" Vess chuckled quietly. "It means I almost ruined my life forever, basically. I wouldn't have died, but it wouldn't have been... well, truly living, I suppose." She paused a moment to set her mug down on the table. "Carissa already told you I was once an assassin, and I confirmed it. I did indeed cut throats for a living... well, when I wasn't busy with my other... job." Vex noticed how the elf put immense disgust in the final word, but before she could ask, Vess continued. "I used to work in a brothel, too."
"I... what?" In the few stories she'd heard of Valenwood, she had always imagined the province of the wood elves to be relatively pure... certainly not given to such shady locations as a brothel.
"Like I said, I came close to self destructing," Vess chuckled softly. Her good humor fell after a moment, though, and her expression became serious. "I was a damned good assassin, and I was also rather good at..." She didn't continue that particular thought, and Vex could understand. Few would take pride in being a whore in a brothel. "I was best, however, at keeping the two... lifestyles separate. I never let my job at the brothel mix with my job as an assassin, and vice versa. No one ever suspected I was an assassin if they saw me in the brothel, nor did they think the assassin they were hiring was also a..."
"So what happened?"
Vess looked grateful that Vex was willing to just get straight into the heart of the matter. "I slipped, that's what happened. I had received a job to literally cut someone out of their father's will, so the client would earn even more... or so he told himself. Those sort of things have trails, and if I'd been discovered and interrogated, I absolutely would have sold the client out." A grim smile crossed her lips. "All I cared about was getting paid to do my job. I never promised my clients confidentiality if I was captured... not that I ever was." The smile fell from her lips. "Anyway, the very next day, who should come to the brothel but the very mer I was to assassinate. And what bizarre fortune it seemed, at the time, that I was the one to see to his... needs. I decided to keep my two jobs separate, and would follow him out once we were done, follow him home, and kill him there."
"Something changed your mind." Vex did not ask it, but rather simply realized where Vess seemed to be going with this.
"He was a pig," the wood elf said rather flatly. "He wanted far more than what he had paid for, and blocked the door so I couldn't get out and notify the matron." She paused for a couple of seconds. "For our own safety, we were allowed to conceal a single weapon - usually a blade - within our chambers. Our guests were always notified that we would protect ourselves if we felt the need, but that we were expressly forbidden from killing the client outright. I... forgot that little detail, faced with this pig of a mer, whom I was supposed to assassinate anyway. He laughed at me when he saw me draw my dagger from its hiding place. He was convinced I wasn't actually going to hurt him." She closed her eyes.
"You... didn't kill him, though?" Vex asked quietly.
"I tried, Vex, believe me. It was a pure miracle that he survived what should have been a fatal wound across the throat, and the healers who tended to him said as much. I managed to avoid trouble with the law because he lived, and because I was 'only defending myself'. A miracle was the only thing that kept me out of prison for, quite possibly, the rest of my life." She shook her head lightly. "I eventually realized what no one else realized, though. My job as an assassin was... interfering with my job at the brothel. I was losing my ability to maintain the distance between the two. At first, I thought to simply quit working at the brothel and dedicate myself to a life of assassinations, but I eventually realized that if I did that, I would only continue down the road to personal ruin. Killing had already become natural to me because of my work; I knew the problems it could pose to my future. I was... impulsive, and an impulsive, off-duty assassin has a tendency to... well." She fiddled with the mug of mead idly. "Let's just say I knew fellow assassins who wound up arrested and executed because they chose to argue with their weapon instead of words. That was quickly what I was headed toward... but I had the presence of mind to realize it beforehand. I took no pride devoting myself to working at the brothel; even if I wasn't killing anymore, I was still quite the sneak. Eventually, I began to explore the world of theft, and found I fit into it rather well." She chuckled quietly and shook her head. "Of course, I ended up quitting my job at the brothel once the matron became suspicious of me. Clients I saw were complaining that they were missing rings, or gems, or decent sums of gold... She put two and two together, and I quit before the brothel would get in trouble."
"You mixed the two jobs," Vex chuckled.
"Better theft than assassination," Vess replied with a wry grin. She lifted the mug and drank briefly.
"You cared about the brothel?" Vex asked.
"I cared about the matron and the others," Vess answered. "They were like family, and I wasn't going to put my 'family' out of work because of my greed. I didn't give a damn about the clients, though. I hated almost all of the clients that stepped into my room. There were a couple who were respectful and nice to me, but on the whole, the clients were just rude pigs." She fell silent and resumed drinking from her mug.
Vex offered no further questions nor comments, choosing instead to just think about everything Vess had just told her. She eventually realized that it was effectively the start of the wood elf's tale as a thief. She began to wonder just how Vess had accrued the rather considerable wealth she possessed... the wealth to pay off bandits as watchdogs and establish her very own up-and-coming guild of thieves. There was no way any thief unaffiliated with the Guild could make it that far... then again, Vex now fell into that category, and a recent incident aside, she wasn't doing so bad...
Before she could ask any further, though, Vess set her mug down upon the table and sighed softly. "Now it's your turn," Vess said with a wink. "How did you come to sit here as a former member of the Guild?"
"Screwed up a job at Goldenglow," Vex mumbled. When she saw Vess was still looking at her, she sighed softly. "Not much to tell, really. Picked Brynjolf's pocket a few years back, was found out a few days later. He was more impressed than angry, and invited me to join the Guild. I figured 'sure, why not?' and that was that."
"So... theft just came that easily to you?" Vess pressed.
Vex chose that moment to fake a yawn; that was something she didn't like discussing with anyone. "Sorry," she murmured, "but I'm feeling tired... can that wait?" She felt rather guilty at the disappointed expression that flickered across the wood elf's face, but did her best to hide the guilt.
"And after I just told you part of my own past, too," Vess sighed out. "Oh, fine. But you will tell me, Vex. Don't think I'm going to forget about it."
As Vex excused herself and stepped into their room, she somehow knew that Vess would indeed remember it, and would probably say nothing further about her own past until Vex talked more of hers.
Vex wasn't sure which irritated her more: the fact that their cavern entrance to the Embassy reeked of death and decay, or the fact that they'd been forced to climb a cliff of ice and frigid rock in order to continue deeper into the cave. She supposed the stench was a longer term issue, considering it persisted to the very rear of the cavern - albeit not as foul.
The wooden ladder leading up to the trapdoor looked rickety and old in comparison to the trapdoor itself, and Vex was very certain she heard the fourth rung from bottom creak when her foot pressed against it. It did nothing to soothe her nerves, which were frayed slightly by what they were doing - and what may await them if they failed.
"Vex," Vess hissed softly. "Calm down. I can hear the pick trembling in the lock."
"Does the execution not bother you?" Vex shot back quietly.
She was referring to what they had first seen upon entering Solitude. Public executions were not unheard of... but public executions presided over by the Thalmor were another matter entirely. The unfortunate soul being executed was accused of nothing more than wandering too close to the Embassy's walls, 'conspiring to overthrow the Dominion' as the elves had put it. He was beheaded before he could offer his own side of events or last words.
Vex recognized it for what it was. The Thalmor were sending a message to any who would try and meddle in Thalmor affairs. She knew full well it was intended to deter would-be thieves from taking the Crown.
And yet, here she was, presently fussing over the rather complicated lock that barred entry into the Embassy. It wasn't that it was impossible for her, it was just one of the more advanced locks she'd dealt with. The memory of the execution was still rather fresh in her mind, and certainly had an impact on her nerves.
"Trust me," Vess growled quietly, "I would rather be executed in public than captured by the Thalmor. With them, there are fates far worse than death."
Vex' lockpick snapped at that moment, making her curse quietly under her breath. The lock had started to give a little, but she'd made a small mistake. She fished for another lockpick, eyes upon the lock.
"It was an attempt to intimidate anyone who wants the Crown," Vess continued. If she heard the lockpick snap, she made no mention of it. "They still have it, then, but only for a little while.
Vex had barely renewed her efforts to pick the lock when she heard the sound of footsteps overhead. Her eyes widened as she realized they were drawing closer to the trapdoor, and not wanting to take chances, she swiftly withdrew the lockpick and descended the ladder. She silently gestured for Vess to get away from the trapdoor.
Scant seconds later, it opened from above. A couple seconds after that, a Nord fell down to the ground below like a rag doll. It took Vex but another second to realize the Nord was dead. The trapdoor started to lower. A glance at Vess revealed the wood elf wanted to take her chances at holding the trapdoor open so they wouldn't have to fuss with the lock.
"You're not just going to leave it there." There was a voice from above, loud enough for both thieves to hear easily. It was a high elf, no doubt.
"I don't see the harm in it," came a second voice. This one was coming from the trapdoor.
"Get down there and feed the troll," the first voice commanded. "I will not tolerate-"
Vex felt something press against her arm, and glanced at the thing in question. Vess was holding a white vial and had it pressed against Vex' arm, an expectant look on her face. The wood elf was going for it, then? She gently took the bottle and began to slowly uncork it.
Her eyes widened as she realized it was intended to provide them with added stealth on their way up the ladder. The appearance of a boot, elven in its design, upon the ladder's topmost rung made Vex hastily gulp the vial down. The effects were almost immediate: her body shimmered, then faded from view altogether. As she was no longer able to see Vess, she assumed the wood elf had taken an invisibility potion as well.
The sound of boots crunching on the ground snapped her attention back to the ladder, and her gaze rested on the high elf clad entirely in that ugly elven armor. He was bending down to grab the dead Nord by the collar.
She felt someone grab and squeeze her hand gently, then felt her hand move toward the ladder. Vess wanted to slip in now, while the trapdoor was still open and they were invisible. Seeing no other real opportunity, Vex followed the wood elf, who still had the Imperial's hand in her own.
Climbing a ladder after someone else while they were invisible was... interesting. Vex was fairly certain she had accidentally smacked her hand against Vess' boots at least seven times on their way up the ladder. Even so, they both - or Vex, as far as she could see - had reached the interior of the Embassy.
At least, she assumed so. The stone walls certainly looked like a place where others might live, and it was well lit besides. The unnerving thing, then, lay in the fact that cells adorned the room, as did what looked like torture equipment.
"Interrogation chamber," she heard Vess whisper into her ear, making her jump. How did Vess know where Vex was? Had the potion already worn off? A quick glance at her hands revealed nothing, save the fact that she was still invisible. "This way," the wood elf continued; a second later, Vex felt an invisible hand clasp her shoulder and tug her gently toward what looked to be a stairwell, far from the trapdoor.
As they moved quietly and invisibly, Vex saw the likely source of the second voice: a Thalmor wizard, if his gaudy robes were anything to go by. He was seated at a table, attention seemingly focused on the paper before him. Vex took extra care not to make any noise as she hurried toward the stairs Vess had indicated; magic was nothing she liked facing.
Vess appeared before her almost immediately after they disappeared into the stairwell, and surmised she had reappeared as well. They were hidden from view for now, but Vex could hear, very faintly, the sound of someone climbing up the ladder... someone clad in light metal armor was ascending. She guessed it was the first high elf that had disposed of the body.
"So far so good," Vess whispered. "We've only just begun, though." She jerked her head to the stairs, and both thieves silently crept up the stone steps. "I have two more potions for each of us, if we need them." Vex accepted the two small vials the wood elf offered her, and carefully stowed them in the satchel at her waist. "Elenwen's office is overhead."
Vex knew that already. They had gone over the plan and likely hiding places for the Jagged Crown several times now. They knew the layout of the Embassy as surely as the backs of their hands. As she set to work picking the lock on the large metal door, Vex thought about how Vess would slip into the Embassy proper and find the Crown, swap it with the fake, and return to the interrogation chamber. Vex, on the other hand, would simply wait for the wood elf to return.
She still wasn't all that used to being sidelined when it came to actual theft, but by now she had to agree that this was the better option. It would be the way things were until they could figure out if someone or something was, in fact, furious with the Guild - and Vex, by former association.
The lock clicked open, Vex moved away from the door, and with a small, reassuring nod, Vess slipped through the door, leaving Vex alone for the time being.
She was not waiting for very long. She guessed it had been a few minutes crouched behind some supplies in the stairwell before she heard soft footsteps descending the stairs. A cautious peek from her hiding place revealed Vess.
Unfortunately, she was accompanied by a Thalmor wizard, and had her hands bound behind her back. She was being escorted to one of the cells. Vex' heart plummeted at the implications.
Vess had been captured.
A.N. - Nooo, not Vess! No, but seriously, I think everyone foresaw one of them being captured by the Thalmor sooner or later. I was initially going to do that later in the story, but eh.
Vess used to work at a brothel, yes. It does kind of explain her overall playful nature. Will anything come of this particular part of her past? That's telling.
Not a whole lot to say here. Guess I'll just keep this A.N. short.
-Spiritslayer
