Cloak and Dagger

20th of Last Seed, 4E 202

Lizzel stretched as she exited the training area in the Thieves' Guild. She had been sparing with Sapphire. It had felt good to fight someone with some skill. The bandits of Skyrim weren't much of a challenge, and she often got bored picking fights with them.

"Oi, newbie come over here for a second!"

Lizzel hissed quietly. "Yes Mercer what is it?" she asked. She had been with the Guild for almost a year soon. It irked her to still be called 'newbie'. She had proven her worth several times over.

"About the mark that you found at Goldenglow and Honningbrew and the information you gathered from Gulum-Ei," Mercer said. "I believe I've finally pieced the puzzle together. Remember that he mentioned a 'Karliah' she used to be part of the Guild before she murdered Gallus. I have found where she has been hiding out all these years."

"Then we must go there," Lizzel said.

"We will depart at once if you are ready," Mercer said.

Lizzel nodded. She followed her Guild Master out of the Ragged Flagon and through the gates of the city of Riften. She walked a good few steps behind him. It was good that she did. It allowed Rashall to reveal his presence to her without Mercer knowing.

Rashall stayed a good bit behind them so he wouldn't be detected. He was glad that he had left for the Guild when he had. He would have missed them otherwise. 'Thank you Kyne and Nocturnal,' he thought. Not that he was overly worried for Lizzel. She could take care of herself, but it still felt better to know what was going on.

23rd of Last Seed, 4E 202

For three days they travelled. Lizzel was getting fed up with Mercer. He was pretty good at lying; she would give him that, but she knew the truth. It boiled down to whether she trusted Mercer or Rashall more. She was betting on Rashall. He seemed less slimy and had been very open and truthful with her. He also didn't have a myriad of question marks floating around him the way Mercer did. He was trying to convince her that Karliah had killed her lover. It didn't sound impossible and it might have been believable if Lizzel hadn't gotten other information from Rashall.

"I'm going to scout ahead," Mercer said. "Don't do anything foolish, newbie."

Lizzel slowed down. She figured that now she could let Rashall catch up. "What do you think about this?" she asked as she felt his presence next to her.

"I think it smells like a trap a mile off," Rashall said.

"Thought so," Lizzel responded. "I'll be careful then."

"Let's eat somethin before ya go up and trigger the trap," Rashall said. "Ya should never do these things on an empty stomach."

Lizzel hisses out a short laugh. "That's fine with me," she said.

They moved off the road some and lit a small cooking fire. They didn't speak much as they grilled some vegetables and a hare that Rashall had caught along the way.

When Lizzel got up and continued on the path she found Mercer looking quite antsy.

"Good, you're finally here," he said. "I've scouted the ruins and I'm certain Karliah is still inside."

"You have seen her?" Lizzel said as her tail swished back and forth behind her.

"No, I found her horse. Don't worry, I've taken care of it... she won't be using it to escape. Let's get moving, I want to catch her inside while she's distracted," Mercer said. "Take the lead."

Lizzel hid a sigh. Poor horse. It didn't deserve whatever Mercer has done to it. "I see," she said. She walked up in front of him. It didn't feel good to have him behind her. At least she knew that Rashall was behind him. If Mercer tried something Rashall would deal with him.

"Just make sure you keep your eyes open. Karliah is as sharp as a blade. The last thing I need is you blundering into a trap and warning her that we're here," Mercer said. "You see she is a master marksman. The last time I was here, when Gallus died, she was set up so she pierced him with an arrow as soon as he showed himself. Before I could even draw my blade, her second arrow found its mark in my chest."

Lizzel didn't respond. If they were supposed to be quiet maybe he should shut up. She walked up on the mound that held the entrance to the sanctum and dropped down to the door. She touched it. It was locked.

"They say these ancient Nordic burial mounds are sometimes impenetrable. This one doesn't look too difficult. Quite simple really, I don't know what the fuss is about these locks. All it takes is a bit of know-how and a lot of skill," Mercer said as he fiddled with the lock. "That should do it. After you."

Lizzel saw how he hid the lockpick or key he had used to open the door. It wasn't obvious, but he certainly didn't want her to see it. That just made her weary. She pushed the door open and stepped inside. A set of stairs led them down underground. Fires burned and moss hung from the ceiling.

"The stench in here... this place smells of death. Be on your guard," Mercer said.

Lizzel sighed softly. He wasn't going to shut up, was he? He'd give them away for certain. She wished she just had Rashall with her and not this idiot. She led the way further down. A draugr lay dead on the ground. When she got further into the room two other draugr appeared from their coffins. She made quick work of them.

Further down.

Another room and more dead draugr.

"Pull the chain over there, and watch out for the spikes. Looks like Karliah reset all of the traps."

Lizzel cringed. At least his insistent blabber would make sure Rashall went undetected.

Lizzel pulled the chain and backed up behind the trap. She muffled a snicker when the trap graced Mercer. He had warned her but apparently wasn't good at taking his own advice. A draugr stood still as a statue in a niche past the next set of stairs. Lizzel drew a dagger and threw it. The draugr stumbled out of the niche and collapsed. As Lizzel collected her dagger, she realized that another draugr stood right beside her. Her hand closed around the hilt of her dagger and she pulled it out of one undead just to ram it straight into another. They passed a door and Lizzel figured Rashall would look into that. He couldn't be that far behind them.

More niches, more draugr and a set of trap wires that would have lit the entire room on fire if Lizzel hadn't disabled them. She pulled a chain to open the next gate

Down and down they went.

"Bone chimes... clever. Rigged to wake the draugr I'd bet. Don't blunder into any of them."

'Mercer I'm going to slit your throat myself if you don't shut up,' Lizzel thought. Why couldn't he just shut up? She danced between the chimes and opened the next gate.

A while later Rashall entered the room. He sighed as he looked around. Oh, he could easily just move through, but he hated leaving enemies behind him. Slowly he walked from one coffin to the next ending the undead's unnatural existence before following Lizzel once more. He had to stop and pull into the shadows as he reached the next room. He could see Lizzel overhead and didn't want to be spotted.

"Karliah always was a nimble minx. Sneaking past these draugr must have been like child's play for her," Mercer said.

Rashall rolled his eyes. Mercer was not very good. He never had been. Following the other two Rashall soon found a slaughterhouse except all the victims were draugr so it wouldn't smell as bad. Lizzel must have gone all out on them. He smiled at least she knew what she was doing. He jumped over some pots at the end of the corridor and continued slowly.

Rashall sighed as he saw the Word Wall. Well, now he was going to have to come back with Harry. 'Might as well do that as soon as possible,' he thought to himself. When he found a Nordic door that had been open he wasn't surprised, though he did wonder who opened it. He was only a few steps behind Lizzel now. He slipped into the shadows provided to him by Nocturnal as an arrow hit Lizzel paralyzing her. He moved closer to her so he may protect her should the need arise.

A woman walked down the nearby steps.

"Do you honestly think your arrow will reach me before my blade finds your heart?" Mercer asked.

"Give me a reason to try," Karliah answered because this was Karliah. Rashall recognized her quite well.

"You're a clever girl, Karliah. Buying Goldenglow Estate and funding Honningbrew Meadery was inspired," Mercer said.

"'To ensure an enemy's defeat, you must first undermine his allies.' It was the first lesson Gallus taught us," Karliah said between clenched teeth.

"You always were a quick study," Mercer responded.

"Not quick enough, otherwise Gallus would still be alive," Karliah bit back.

Rashall knelt next to Lizzel as they bickered. He poured a small vial into Lizzel's mouth. Before ordering her to stay as still as possible. He wanted to get to the bottom of this.

"Gallus had his wealth and he had you. All he had to do was look the other way," Mercer said.

"Did you forget the oath we took as Nightingales? Did you expect him to simply ignore your methods?" Karliah growled.

"Enough of all this mindless banter! Come on, Karliah. It's time for you and Gallus to become reunited!" Mercer said. He was getting impatient.

Karliah fished out a small potion bottle from somewhere and drank it. "I'm no fool, Mercer. Crossing blades with you would be a death sentence. But I can promise the next time we meet, it will be your undoing," she said as she turned invisible.

Rashall with his sensitive ears could hear that she didn't go far. His eyes narrowed as Mercer approached.

"How interesting. It appears Gallus' history has repeated itself. Karliah has provided me with the means to be rid of you, and this ancient tomb becomes your final resting place," Mercer said boastfully. But do you know what intrigues me the most? The fact that this was all possible because of you. Farewell. I'll be certain to give Brynjolf your regards."

"Yeah right," Lizzel said as she jumped out of the way. She drew a dagger and bared her teeth.

"Run Mercer. I will only say that once," Rashall hissed from the shadows. "Ya may be good, but together we're better." He stepped out of the shadows with his blades drawn. His piercing teal eyes cut into Mercer like ice.

"You haven't seen the last of me," Mercer called before he took off running.

"Why did you do that? We could have killed him," Lizzel said.

"Because Lizz. I want the truth, not just his death," Rashall said.

"How?

Rashall grinned. "What Karliah?" he asked.

"How did you have an antidote for my paralytic poison? It took me a year to perfect; I only had enough for a single shot," Karliah said.

"Well, I've always been better with poisons than most Karliah. I also spent many years travelin and seein many different ways to paralyze creatures… among other things," Rashall responded. "I developed a cure-all a while ago. Ya should have come to me. I could've helped ya."

Karliah sighed. She didn't know what else to say. "I'm glad you didn't kill him," she said. "I want him alive."

"Why?" Lizzel asked. "Why do you want that slime alive?"

"Mercer must be brought before the Guild to answer for what he's done," Karliah said. "He needs to pay for Gallus's murder."

Lizzel sighed. It was obvious that the other two weren't going to listen to her. She thought it sounded perfectly logical to simply stab Mercer. Problem solved. They didn't seem to look at it like that. "What now then?" she asked.

"My purpose in using Snow Veil Sanctum to ambush Mercer wasn't simply for irony's sake. Before you arrived, I recovered a journal from Gallus's remains. I suspect the information we need to prove Mercer's guilt is written inside," Karliah said.

"Alright, so what does it say then?" Lizzel asked.

"I wish I knew. The journal is written in some sort of language I've never seen before," Karliah said.

"So we need a translator," Lizzel said.

"Enthir... Gallus's friend at the College of Winterhold," Karliah said. "He might know. The two of them were quite close."

Lizzel grimaced. She didn't feel like talking to mages.

"I can take care of that," Rashall said. "I can go by the College for other less obvious reasons. It might be best if I bring it."

"Thank you," Karliah said. She sighed. "Now I wish to care for Gallus' remains. He shouldn't have to lay down here in a frozen crypt."

"Good luck with that," Rashall said. "I'll find ya when I have this translated."

Lizzel and Rashall left Snow Veil Sanctum behind.

"I know ya're not pleased with me decision to leave Mercer alive, Lizz," Rashall said. "I can't blame ya. I'm doin this cause I want to know what he's after, but don hesitate to kill him if ya run into him now."

"I think it's dumb, but there is nothing that can be done about it," Lizzel said. "So I guess I'll see you when I see you."

Rashall nodded. It was time he headed back home. He needed to fetch Harry for some more dungeon delving.