It was a bit late for most of the shops to be open, and the sun had already long vanished behind the city walls by the time they arrived. In that time Carolara had almost lost Baurus twice; the grand city looked very different by torchlight and it was difficult for her not to take in every interesting sight. The briskness of his pace didn't help, but it was well-founded, for he said that the bookstore had no defined closing hour on weekend days. There was no knowing if the proprietor would even be there, or if they'd be forced to wait until morning.
Baurus let out an audible sigh of relief when he tried the door and found it unlocked. Phintias greeted them and the Blade began to warm up his fellow Redguard with idle conversation while Carolara perused the shelves. Once the chit-chat ran out she'd found copies of both beginning volumes, but not the third or fourth, and she came over empty-handed.
"I'll cut to the chase, Phintias," Baurus let his tone dip into the more solemn, "The Blades are in need of Volumes Three and Four of Camoran's 'Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes'. I understand they're not easy to come by, but you're the best collector in Cyrodiil. So here we are."
The proprietor just raised an eyebrow. "What are the odds. I've never even seen Volume Four, but I had a copy of Volume Three for years."
"Had?" Carolara prompted, somewhat impatiently.
"That's the strange thing. I sold it this very afternoon, to the first person to ever ask for it in all that time."
The Redguard's hands were tense, and his junior Blade could sense that he was fighting back the urge to get angry. She instinctively took a step back, sympathetic with that frustration... Carolara wasn't any happier to be chasing shadows than he was.
Baurus broke the silence, his voice even, having successfully dragged himself back into a calm state. "On behalf of the Blades I'm going to have to ask you to tell me who you sold that book to."
A sigh, "For the love of Arkay, please don't go roughing up my customers. He paid very well and came a long way just to buy it from me, I don't want you two scaring him off."
"You don't understand," Carolara looked Phintias in the eyes. "If he bought that book it's possible he's working with the Emperor's assassins. I'm sure it'd be very bad for business to be implicated in such a plot."
Without another word of objection the bookseller ducked down and pulled out a massive, weathered ledger book. He laid it open on the desk and once he located the entry, turned it round for the Blades to read.
"Gwinas of Arenthia," Baurus read aloud. He then looked up at his acquaintance, who seemed rather cross to be forced to show his records. "He came all the way from Valenwood?"
Phintias let out another exasperated sigh, "He mentioned he had a room somewhere in the city. Dressed in silk and gold, everything about him said 'big money', so I'd try the expensive places first."
Soon they were back out on the street with the door closed quite firmly behind them, and the Breton's keen ears caught the sound of the door being hurriedly locked. Obviously they had overstayed their welcome. Baurus pondered the shop door a few moments, mind running through the worst-case scenarios that his underling was doing her best to not think about. After a few moments he began to lead them toward the high-income Talos Plaza district, and the smaller Carolara had a bit of difficulty keeping up with his pace. She refrained from voicing her concern; they couldn't afford to miss this elf before he got out of the Imperial City, and she very well knew it.
Carolara hung back as Baurus inquired with the publican of a place called the Tiber Septim Hotel. Everything here was exquisite and she found herself unable to look away from the carved, polished wooden cabinets filled with fine silver, the detailed rugs... so much wealth lay in just a single room of this place. Who knew what lay behind doors, locked, though this was only an illusion of safety. Locks could be manipulated to allow anyone access, if one knew the right tricks. And with the clientele of a place like this it would be so fascinating what manner of silks and gemstones and jewelry turned out each night.
Baurus returned to find her a bit fidgety, but either did not notice or just ignored it, she couldn't tell. He had found where Gwinas was staying, but not Gwinas himself. The good news was that their target had not yet checked out. The publican had seen him leaving with a book under his arm not long before, saying he was going for a walk.
"So, what's the plan?" Carolara inquired.
"We find him," he answered simply. "If we don't find him in a couple of hours we come back here, and wait if he hasn't returned by then, but I'd prefer that we chat with him alone if you know what I mean."
A solemn nod. "If he came all this way to get that book he's probably very eager to read it. So there's a good chance that's the book he took with him."
"How's he going to read in the dark?" Baurus wondered aloud.
Carolara held out her open palm, concentrated, and produced a small orb of light hovering just above it. It didn't last for more than a few seconds, however, and she let her hand drop to her side.
"Ah," he smiled knowingly. "Illusions, of course."
"I'm not very good at it except for a couple of tricks," she sheepishly admitted, chuckling at herself. "Even though Bretons are supposed to have it come naturally. But elves are even better with magicka, so he doesn't exactly need to have a lamp. That glow is what we'll probably be looking for."
The Redguard checked his sword, sighed, and led them back out onto the moonlit street. "I'd have us split up to cover more ground, but it's too dangerous. For all we know we're being led into a trap; the enemy is still ahead of the game. We'll have better odds of survival if we stick together."
The streets were practically empty and it was still a bit early, not terribly strange in a time when people were so nervous. The Daedra could feasibly hit any city they pleased next, and rumor abounded they were making appearances in other provinces. The shadows cast on the stone city seemed long and strange in the flickering streetlights, though to Carolara it probably only looked so threatening because of the fears in her head. And when they passed the statue of the dragon it seemed so much more monstrous than in the daytime, where it had felt like a solemn, watchful guardian.
Not twenty minutes into the walk, Carolara was preoccupied looking elsewhere when she collided with Baurus' outstretched hand. "Pay attention," he chided her through clenched teeth, his voice low.
She shook her head, whispering back, "Sorry," and then gazed off the way he was pointing; a gentle white light some distance away, the silhouette of a robed man blocking it off somewhat. "Not trying very hard to be inconspicuous, is he?"
But Baurus's tone was a bit more dire. "His robes are red."
Carolara squinted off in their target's direction, her eyes adjusting to the play of light. He was right.
After some time, the Redguard placed his hand on his sword-hilt. "Alright, listen. It could be the enemy is trying to bait us, so I want you to stay back and keep watch from the shadows. You're pretty good at slinking around. If I'm ambushed or something just run."
She crossed her arms, brows knitting in concern. "That's an awful plan."
"But it is a plan," he said, matter-of-fact. "And we may not have another shot."
The Breton grabbed his arm before he could step toward the seemingly oblivious reader. "What if we wait for him to go back to his room? Corner him there?"
"It'd be easier to pull off an ambush in a closed building behind locked doors than in the open street. The guards are at least still on patrol."
"But..."
Baurus was getting irritated, jerking his arm away from her, "I outrank you, Moorhart. Now follow my orders or leave the Blades. I for one plan to carry out my mission." And off he went before she could say another word of protest.
Leave? It was unthinkable, as frustrated as Carolara felt to watch him run up to the Wood Elf and startle the book right out of his hands. No, in the Blades she had a purpose, a grand purpose; to protect her Emperor, and not just until he could claim his throne, but now for the rest of her life. In the Blades she had found friends. A disagreement would not be enough to make her turn her back on all of that. No, this was one of the few choices in her life she knew she wouldn't regret.
Even as her mind raced her eyes scanned the shadows all around them. There was not a single sign of movement. She looked back over to Baurus to see the elf cowering before him, and something just felt wrong. The hand waiting on her bow relaxed at long last. This frightened man wasn't their enemy... was he? All the rest had attacked them with a reckless, brainwashed zeal, not once showing fear even as they died; this one seemed to have far too much regard for his own life. Telling herself she'd deal with the consequences later, Carolara came out of cover and approached the conversation.
"-that's just foolish prejudice and superstition," Gwinas was stammering to explain himself, clinging to the book in his arms. She was close enough to see the cover; it was their target. "For the adventurous, open-minded thinker, Daedric worship holds many rewards."
That was when she noticed his robes, while red, weren't made of the same material... and she hadn't remembered any of them being trimmed in gold like his were. A glance over to Baurus revealed he was just as puzzled, but no less upset.
"You fool," he growled at the small elf, "They killed the Emperor!"
What little color that was left in Gwinas' face drained away, as did all of Carolara's suspicion that he might be remotely involved with the cult's plans. "Th...the Mythic Dawn were the ones?" And then panic, shoving his expensively-bought tome into Baurus's hands. "You have to believe me! I truly had no idea. I mean, I knew they were a Daedric cult. Mankar Camoran's views on Mehrunes Dagon are fascinating, revolutionary even... but to murder the Emperor... Mara preserve us!"
The Breton stepped closer, trying to use the tone of her voice to urge both men to calm, "The Fourth Volume, where do you get it? We need it too."
Slowly the Wood Elf reached into his pocket, holding out his other hand in reassurance, fearful of moving too quickly. "You can only get Volume Four directly from a member of the Mythic Dawn." He produced a wadded-up parchment, the circle where a wineglass had been set staining the center, and handed it to Baurus.
The Blade looked over it for a moment, squinting to do so in the dim streetlight, and then read aloud. "'When you are ready, come to the Sunken Sewers under the Elven Gardens... come alone'."
"I had set up a meeting with the Sponsor, as he called himself." The elf glanced between them. "Please, may I go? I don't want anything else to do with the Mythic Dawn."
At a simple nod from Baurus, the Bosmer was heading back toward his pricy hotel at a quickened pace. Just as Carolara was about to speak, her superior interrupted her thoughts, tone stern. "You came out of cover and I didn't give you the signal."
She narrowed her eyes, "He wasn't a threat, it didn't feel right... Sir."
He just shook his head and gestured for her to follow. "This mission is too important to jeopardize. I know you haven't been a Blade very long so I'll cut you a break, but I expect better discipline in the future."
Oh how the immature side of her wanted to protest or at the very least make a witty comment, but she knew how right he was, and felt rather embarrassed to have forgotten the dreadful importance of their mission. Carolara had never belonged to any sort of organized group before, let alone one that was so strict. But to be able to make up for her failure in the sewers, and to keep the pleasant company she had gained, and to be one of her Emperor-to-be's most trusted and close guardians... sacrificing the freedom she'd grown used to would be worth all that.
"I apologize, Sir," Carolara spoke at length, her voice ringing of formality, "It will not happen again."