"Just where, exactly, are we going Enthir?" Brelyna asked Enthir as she dismounted off her horse before the stable that stood just outside the city gates of Riften.
She looked at the city walls wondering just what exactly laid beyond them as she had never been to this particular part of Skyrim before. It was sure to be an interesting experience. Her fellow mage followed close behind seeing how he was trying to shake off the numb feeling that he had received after sitting in the hard leather saddle for so long. It had taken them a few days journey to reach their destination to Odahviing's displeasure when Brelyna had explained to him their plans on traveling to the city tucked in the southern-eastern lands of the province. The dragon had insisted on flying them there, but she declined persuading him that he would cause too much attention. To Brelyna's surprise the dragon had stubbornly agreed and said that he would return to High Hrothgar to tell the others of their plans, but would return and wait for them outside the city.
"Trust me, Brelyna, I know where I'm going. More importantly I know what I am doing."
After leaving their horses with the stable hands they entered the city. Brelyna was surprised with the state she saw the town in. She knew Riften was a very old city, its buildings mostly made out of wood and over time the aging of it had given everything a sort of old, run-down kind of feeling. But she found that this effect had also given the city personality, much to her delight. The scholar in her wondered what events Riften had lived through with its history.
"Stick close to me," she heard Enthir tell her. "Wouldn't want you getting lost or anything."
Brelyna did as she was told and walked alongside Enthir through the cobble stone streets and over creaking old bridges where they continued to walk through the crowded marketplace. The Dark Elf was swept up in the flow of the city as life wasn't like this back in Winterhold for the small population that it contained. She quickly skimmed the items that the shopkeepers had on display for sale while trying to keep up with her colleague. Enthir continued to lead her through the hustle and bustle heading for what she assumed was the palace of the Jarl, which she was able to quickly gawk at before seeing him make a left before the gates and leading them down a stray path. The path lead them to a small cemetery that was no doubt the back property to the Hall of the Dead. Thinking that Enthir would continue onward Brelyna was surprised when she saw him heading for the small crypt structure that stood open behind the lined tombstones.
"Enthir!" she hissed. "What in Oblivion are you doing?"
"Shhhh!" he hushed her waving her closer. "Not so loud. You want a guard to come sneaking around?"
Brelyna looked at him stubbornly, but remained silent all the same wondering just what it was that the elf was up to. She could only hope that it wouldn't end up landing them in jail for the night.
"Good," he confirmed before carefully inspecting the crypt as if looking for something. "Now, where we are about to go, I would say, isn't exactly your cup of tea, but all I can say is let me do all the talking first, alright?"
"Okay," she agreed. Though she had a sinking feeling in her stomach that she was going to regret it and regret it all too soon.
"Right, so just don't tell Kydin about this little adventure. Let's just keep it between the two of us. He'll give me a beating for sure if he found out I brought you here of all places."
"Fine, but what exactly are you looking for?" Just then Enthir had his hands running along the encasement of the stone coffin when part of it gave in. The two of them felt a small tremor in the earth before seeing the ground move away to reveal a small staircase and an old metal door.
"Precisely-this," Enthir gestured at the opening before making the short descent down.
"Enthir," Brelyna began to panic feeling her anxiety rise, "seriously, where are we going?"
Enthir looked at her sheepishly, "Why to the Thieves Guild, of course."
"I'm going to kill you, Enthir," Brelyna hissed harshly at the mage for the predicament that he had managed to get them into. After some great persuading and assurance on Enthir's part he was somehow able to convince Brelyna to follow him blindly into the lair of the Thieves Guild, the underbelly of Riften. With them not taking so much as two steps into their Head Quarters they were immediately surrounded by thieves, crooks and thugs all alike. She didn't know why she trusted Enthir in the first place.
"Just relax and let me handle this," Enthir whispered to her paying close attention to the many sharp and pointy daggers pointed in his general direction.
"Hey, guys," he addressed the not so friendly folk. "How's it going? Listen, could one of you be ever so kind as to go and fetch Brynjolf and tell him his good old friend, Enthir, has dropped by to see him? I swear we're close friends, really."
"How about we just skin your sorry ass right now for trespassing on our turf," a dark hair woman threatened.
Enthir was somehow able to bring forth a sound that sounded somewhat like a nervous laugh as the woman brought up a very sharp pointed dagger to his face. "Ummm, ya, that might not be the best thing to do really. Did I mention that I also happen to be a very close and personal friend with your guild leader?" Now this seemed to bring pause to the entire guild.
The woman before them growled, "Would one of you idiots hurry up and get Brynjolf, already?!" Let's just say from there it didn't take too long for one of the lower lackeys to rush off in a tizzy to find Enthir's desired audience. It only took a few short minutes before Enthir heard the thief's familiar voice over the small crowd.
"What in blazes is going on around here?" As the crowd separated to make room for the new arrival Brelyna saw a tall Nord man with red hair step through. "Well, I'll be. Enthir, what are you doing here?" he asked surprised as he step forward to clasp the mage's hand in greeting.
"What? Is there some law that says I can't pay a visit to my most favourite thief?" Enthir joked as he returned the handshake. Brynjolf smiled at his old friend before turning back to the rest of the guild looking just about ready to give them a scolding. "This man is an honoured guest of mine so you lot be sure not to cause either of these two any trouble, you hear me? Good, now the lot of you get back to your own business." Once the thieves dispersed, grumbling as they went, Brynjolf reverted back to his previous charming self. "So, Enthir, you going to introduce me to this pretty lass you brought with you?"
Brelyna blushed. This one sure was a smooth talker. It was times like these where she was thankful for her dark skin making her warm cheeks almost impossible to make out.
"But, of course," Enthir said with a grin. "Brynjolf, may I introduce to you my fellow mage from the college, Brelyna. Brelyna, meet the most charming Nord and thief in all of Skyrim, Brynjolf. He is the second in command of this underground operation."
"Brelyna? Oh, so you're the girl that Kydin always talks about, eh? Pleasure to meet you, lass," Brynjolf flashed her a smile while extending a hand in greeting.
She clasped his hand in return. "He talks about me?" Brelyna asked surprised, though wondering at the same time what Kydin's part was in all of this.
"Sure has. I've heard a lot about you," said the thief before he redirected his attention back to Enthir. "Well, this certainly is a surprise, my friend. What exactly brings you down to the Rat Ways? I know you certainly didn't travel here all the way from Winterhold just for a simple courtesy call."
Enthir's eyes looked casually around the room taking in the few thieve members that lingered just out of earshot. "For that explanation, Brynjolf, we are going to need a place with a few more walls and fewer ears."
Brynjolf nodded in understanding. "Aye, well then follow me if you will. What kind of host would I be if I didn't offer my guests a seat and a drink?"
Following the thief past the curious and wondering eyes of every thief in the room he lead them to his own personal quarters that offered far more privacy for the conversation they were about to have. The room held only a few items including an old round table with four chairs seated around it, a trunk, a bed, a dresser and, to Brelyna's surprise, Meeko.
"Meeko!" Brelyna exclaimed at seeing Kydin's loyal dog here of all places. Upon hearing his name the scruffy looking hound woke up from the afternoon nap he was having on a ratty old rug before what appeared to be the remains of a fireplace. He immediately perked up at seeing the familiar visitor. Meeko barked happily before getting up and trotting over to the mage to greet her.
"Hello to you too, Meeko," Brelyna said has she scratched the canine's head fondly. "But what's he doing here?" she looked to both thief and mage for an explanation.
Enthir couldn't help but look a bit guilty, "Ya," he chuckled nervously, "we'll get to that in a minute," he said before ushering her over to the table where they took a seat. "But first, let us tell Brynjolf about our little problem."
"Problem?" the thief repeated before giving the mage an exaggerated look. "So, what's the favor for this time, Enthir?"
Enthir rolled his eyes before beginning. "Well, let's just say that we sort of have a situation on our hands. One that kind of involves you, my friend."
Brynjolf took note of the elf's serious face. "And just what pray tell is this situation you speak of?"
"Kydin is missing."
The thief took a moment to gather his wits before replying. "Aye, what has the lad gotten himself into this time?"
"I'm sorry; hold on," Brelyna interrupted, "Enthir, just who is this man? And how do you know of Kydin?" she looked to Brynjolf for an explanation. "And why is Meeko here?" she gestured to the canine who panted happily at her feet oblivious to the whole conversation.
Enthir looked to his friend, "Should we tell her?"
"Well, she's bound to find out sooner or later," the thief replied.
"Very well," the mage sighed, "but I'm surprised that you haven't already figured it out, Brelyna."
Brelyna gave them both a confused look not having the faintest idea as to not only how Enthir knew of a clearly secret doorway that lead to the thieves guild, but as to how Kydin's situation had anything to do with the guild to begin with.
"What? Just what is going on around here?"
Enthir took a deep breath as if he was expecting the worst to happen. "Kydin is part of the Thieves Guild."
"What?!" Brelyna exclaimed. No, no Enthir had to be wrong, surely. There was no possible way that Kydin, of all people, would have any relations with the guild.
"Actually, he is head of the guild to be more precise," Brynjolf added before chuckling at some unspoken joke. "You know Kydin is going to give you a good bashing for this, don't you?"
Enthir rolled his eyes, "I am well aware of that, Brynjolf." Yes, the Archmage was definitely going to have his head if he ever returned and got wind of the fact that he voluntarily let Brelyna in on this secret life of his. A secret that Kydin had trusted that he would never tell.
Brelyna couldn't believe what she was hearing. She already had a thousand questions buzzing in her brain. "But how did Kydin get involved with the Thieves Guild?"
"Simple. I recruited him," the Nord thief smiled proudly.
"But why?" Yes, why would Kydin be a thief not to mention head of the Thieves Guild of all things? Not once, in all the time she had known him, had he ever hinted that it was a chosen occupation of his.
"Because he had talent, of course," Brynjolf responded as if it were the most obvious answer in the world.
"No," Brelyna sighed in frustration. "I mean, why didn't he tell me about it? Why would he keep something like this from me?" Kydin and her had always been good friends ever since he first arrived at the college as a simple apprentice. He had been so kind to her assisting her with her spells and experiments. And because of their growing friendship Kydin shared more with her than their other fellow friends and apprentices, Onmund and J'zargo. To find out that Kydin had kept such a secret from her hurt her deeply. She thought that he had put his trust in her more than anyone at the college.
Brynjolf shrugged sheepishly, "Well, the lad had a feeling that you wouldn't exactly approve."
"Ya—well—whatever," Brelyna huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared daggers at the floor.
"How very mature of you, Brelyna," Enthir commented dryly at her behavior. "Listen, once we find Kydin you can interrogate him to your heart's content."
"Right, so what has become of Kydin?" The thief became serious once again as they returned to the subject at hand.
"We don't know. He just disappeared off the face of Nirn or at least that's what I heard," Enthir spoke as he looked to his fellow colleague for a more detailed explanation. "I couldn't really pick up too much information from your chat with Tolfdir a few days ago."
"Wait, you were eavesdropping on us?" Brelyna gaped.
Enthir held up his hands in defense. "Hey, it's no secret that Kydin is the Dragonborn of all people and, like I told you before, when I saw that Greybeard I knew something had happened to him. He leads this merry band of misfits down here and a lot of people depend of his leadership. After all, he turned this place around after that bastard Mercer drove it into the ground."
Brelyna blinked, momentarily distracted from her anger by the new name that had entered the conversation. "Wait, who's Mercer?"
"A tale for another time," he shrugged off. "Can we just focus on bringing Brynjolf up to speed here, please?"
As much as Brelyna hated to admit Enthir was right. "It's true," Brelyna sighed to the Nord. No matter how frustrated she was at Kydin or Enthir for that matter, right now, she was just going to have to bury her emotions for the time being. What was important now was to help Kydin out of whatever situation that he had gotten into. "Kydin was battling against Alduin when it happened. We think he vanished through a portal and we expect magic at work here. The Eye of Magnus to be more exact."
Brynjolf just looked hopelessly lost in the conversation. "And this Eye of Magnus is….?"
"I'll explain it to you later, pal," the Wood elf patted his friend on the shoulder. His friend was a thief not a mage and because of this he was going to require a much more detailed explanation, but later. Right now they needed to get to the task at hand. "But listen, the reason we came here is because we think that a certain artifact that Kydin has might be able to help us find him. We need the Staff of Magnus that Kydin stashed in the thieves vault for safekeeping."
Brynjolf blinked blankly at his friend for all but a moment before saying, "You're joking, right?"
"Why? What's the problem?" Brelyna asked.
Pushing up from his seat the Nord stood. "Come, I'll show you, lass." And so Brynjolf led them from his quarters and back out to the Cistern where they now stood before a large set of golden doors. The design of them was unlike anything Brelyna had ever seen before.
"This is the guild vault," Brynjolf explained. "It is of dwarven make, highly complex and nearly impenetrable. It takes a very highly and impossibly skilled thief to break into it without the keys."
"Keys?" Enthir repeated. "As in more than one? Did I hear that right?"
"Yes," the thief confirmed. "There are three keys that are needed to open the vault. I have one of them in my possession; Delvin has another, and guess who has the final key?"
Enthir gave a weary sigh. "Let me guess-Kydin."
"Exactly and Kydin kept that key on him at all times. Without it we cannot open the vault."
"Is there no other way to open it, Brynjolf?" Brelyna asked. "Without the final key, I mean."
"I don't know very much about the vault," the thief admitted. "But Karliah might know. She would know more about it than I would. Perhaps she might have an idea or two."
"It's worth a try," Enthir agreed. "That staff is our only lead in finding Kydin right now."
"Then let us be off. If I know Kydin there is no telling what that lad has gotten himself into."