Skyrim Thief Fic

Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Bethesda Studios. I own F'arrasha.

Chapter 13: Home Coming

Karliah had explained to me that the Twilight Sepulcher was the temple to Nocturnal, and that Mercer had violated the sanctity of the temple in some way. The plan was to return to the Thieves Guild with the information and explain that Mercer was the traitor and not her. It was a bold plan, but, at the same time, I was worried. What if Mercer had already returned and lied to the Guild that I was in League with Karliah and tried to kill him? It was a chance I had to take. Karliah gave me a blade. It was the symbol of the office of a Nightengale, and that it would be useful to me in the coming battle with Mercer Frey. She then departed.

I returned to Riften, but, instead of heading through the normal Thieves Guild entrance, I decided to make my way through the Ratway again, careful not to be overcome by assassins or thugs. The Ratway seemed clear, but, as I entered The Flagon, I could tell the air suddenly turned stale, more so than usual. Karliah was waiting for me in the shadows. She had introduced herself, feigning as a new member of the Guild, but the deception may not have fooled everyone. We had to hurry. We had to find Brynjolf and explain the situation.

As we made our way to the cistern, a feeling of fear began to grip me. I found the idea of fighting my Guild brethren unappetizing, even if they would be trying to kill me. I saw Dirge give me an icier stare than usual, and, as we entered the cistern, the two of us were surrounded. Vex and Delvin were on either side of Brynjolf, and, as I turned, Dirge was standing in the doorway. Several other members were in back, blocking the exits over on their side.

There was no way out, it seemed. Karliah stood in front of me, shielding me. Brynjolf blasted her for becoming a traitor, but the Dark Elf explained that she was not, that Mercer was the traitor. He had cleaned out the Thieves Guild vault and that he murdered Gallus. We handed him the journal and the translation and, as Brynjolf went to a desk and read it, we waited in anticipation of his response. Brynjolf looked it and shook his head. He then ordered Vex and Delvin to open the vault and, as they did, Vex raised her skepticism. She commented that no one could break into the vault, that it had the most complex puzzle locks available.

But, the shock came as the vault was opened and everything was gone. Everything Karliah said was true. I was surprised myself; I never knew the vault was so big, and had contained, at one point, so much treasure. Vex was infuriated, and so was the rest of the Guild. The plan now was to find Mercer Frey and figure out what he was planning to do with all that money.

Brynjolf called me aside and said that Karliah would be welcome back into the Guild. But, right now, I had a job to do. I had to break into Mercer Frey's house and find out what he was planning to do. There was a hired guard named Vold on the property and that he owed some money to Maven. I could clear the debt with Maven, or kill Vold. Once I got past him, I had to break into the home and find out what Mercer was planning to do and return back to the Guild.

Finding what Vold owed Maven was easy; Maven contracted him to find a magic quill that could duplicate precisely the handwriting of anyone the wearer want to copy. Especially useful when it came to signatures. But, Vold lost it. The box containing it was sunk to the bottom of the lake. If I found it, then the debt would be cleared. It was better than killing him. I found the idea of murder in the big city to be a little unpleasant, especially when someone could hear a scream or a fight.

I searched the lake, starting at the docks. I surfaced and dove several times before coming across the box itself. Quickly picking the lock, I managed to find the gold and the quill. I returned the quill to Maven, and she gave me a note pardoning the debt. The door to the back of Mercer's mansion was locked, but I could see Vold approaching me. He was gruff and crass, asking what I was doing there. I explained that his debt to Maven was paid off and I even showed him the note. He was stunned speechless for a moment before regaining his senses. He nodded and handed me the key to the manor. He left the gate unlocked and walked away. The house was mine.

Getting to the top floor, I snuck my way in. I peered through an opened door and heard voices. The place was crawling with henchmen, mostly brutal thugs looking for a quick coin. I saw one with his back turned to me, but I could hear more of them downstairs. Luckily, this place was dimly lit. I snuck past him carefully, not wanting to start a fight or anything. I did not know how many people there were in the house, and I did not want the city guards to come barging in here. Then again, the doors were barred, so they would have a hard time getting in anyway.

As I continued to search the house, I came across a storage room. On the other side, I could hear the voices of the thugs drinking and talking. I looked around and saw a very curious sight; there seemed to be muddy prints in front of a large cupboard. As I examined the inside of the cupboard, I noticed that there was a false back to this thing. I pressed against it and it opened, revealing a secret chamber. I went inside the chamber and closed both the cupboard and the false bottom, not wanting to replace anything that went amiss. I continued into the basement.

I did not hear the bandits' voices anymore, but, as I delved deeper into this dark level, I noticed the place was trapped. Traps were everywhere, and I could not let my guard down for an instant. I carefully navigated a room full of spikes and slipped by another spike trap. As I continued to explore this maze, I stumbled into a hallway with swinging blades and a battering ram. I flinched a little and made a dash for it, tumbling past each of the death traps. I got to the end with only a minor scratch. I was lucky; it could have been much, much worse for me. And for anyone stupid or crazy enough to look into the basement.

After side-stepping the trapped door, I found Mercer's hidden office. I began my search by examining a very unusual weapon in the glass case; a dagger made of magical ice. I carefully examined the case for traps, and, when I knew there was none, I began to pick the lock. The lock took frustrating patience, but I ultimately did succeed and added that weapon to my arsenal. Then, I looked onto the desk and saw the plans. I had no idea what they were, but the place looked expansive, whatever Mercer was planning. I rolled up the plans and placed them in my bag. I searched for the way out and came across a door leading to the Ratway Vaults. It was not far from the Ragged Flagon and I decided to chance it. I disappeared like a ghost from the house…

Next Chapter:

The Nightengales