Skyrim Thief Fic
Disclaimer: All familiar characters belong to Bethesda Studios. I own F'arrasha.
Chapter 15: The Ultimate Heist Part 1
It was the middle of the day and time was of the essence. I could have waited until nightfall, but Mercer would be long gone by the time we got to where he was. Worse, with whatever he was planning to do with the Skeleton Key, using it here would undoubtedly set him up for life. I had to risk travel in the daytime.
Upon reaching the crest of the hill, I saw the Dwarven ruin Irkngthand. The place was larger than any mansion that I had ever seen. Given the fact that it was built into the mountain, I could only wonder on how giant the complex truly was. And, I was not alone. Bandits had made their camp and, a small hunting party of them saw me on the ledge. I ducked behind a rock, narrowly avoiding an arrow shot by one of them. My daggers were out as I heard three others come around the rocky ledge to try and surround me. I did not move from my cover and turned to the direction they were coming from. I knew the bowman was waiting for me. I knew that, if I fought out of cover, that I could get hit with a lethal blow.
One of the bandits came at me with an axe. I rolled out of the way and stabbed him in the side. He was bleeding, but it only seemed to enrage him as he hefted his two-handed weapon in an attempt to swing at me again. I pulled out and rolled, waiting for the next move. Two more bandits were still coming. The bowman had dropped out of sight. This was bad. I had to find out where she was.
The axe came down again. I dodged it and slammed a dagger into his shoulder and another into his chest. He was dead, the body falling over the side of the ledge. I then felt a sharp pain in my side as an arrow narrowly grazed me. I turned and saw the bowman on another ledge. I pulled out my bow and fired a dead shot at her, knocking her off of the precipice she was on. I sighed for the moment. At least I did not have to worry about her any more.
I picked up my daggers just as my respite ended and slammed them into the chest of the bandit with a mace. He seemed a little surprised at his sudden defeat and dropped to the ground, a limp corpse. The last bandit pulled out a battle axe and came at me, angry that I had made short work of his compatriot. It was a quick finish; I had neither the time nor the patience to deal with these bandits. Mercer was to be found inside.
The sounds of battle did not draw attention to the other bandits in camp. Sneaking around during the day was very different than sneaking around at night. I did not have the cloak of night's light to shield me, but I had my mind. Along the way to the entrance of these hallowed ruins, I saw a pressure plate on the floor. Knowing this would be useful later on, I continued onward, until a shout came from above me. It was the bandit chief, and she was rallying her men to come after me. I retreated back to the pressure plate and waited on the other side, behind the wall. I could hear them closing in and, as soon as one stepped on the pressure plate, I could hear something metallic moving and the screams of the bandits. I turned around the corner and winced as I saw multiple spears retreat from the walls, embedded into the bloody corpses of the bandits.
I thought I was safe, but, then, the bandit chief came roaring at me, enraged that I had killed her brethren. She came at me with a sword and axe and I ducked behind her, running past her. I got to the end of the hall and ran up the steps, her in hot pursuit of me. I got to the top and turned, my daggers ready to fight. I was tired, but the instinct to stay alive, combined with the will to face Mercer and kill him kept me going. Not to mention, what other denizens were lying in wait for me inside this place.
The bandit chief came at me, her mind and her senses consumed in rage. She charged at me again and I tripped her, slashing at her knees. She screamed and fell down near the ledge. I then pushed her over and watched as she unceremoniously landed, her neck bent over a stone. I swallowed, shaking my head and remaining focused. Karliah and Brynjolf had to be further inside. I took one last look at the large metal doors and, inhaling and exhaling in anticipation of what was coming, opened the doors.
The first thing I came into was a bandit camp site. I stuck to the shadows and waited for a moment. It turned out they were all dead. I scavenged the remains and noticed that there were multiple bodies, with some even further. I do not know if Karliah, Mercer, or Brynjolf did this, but, as I looked further, I saw an odd shape of metal, similar to the ones that I saw in the museum at Markarth. It was a metal spider, with a gem inside of it in the wreckage. I picked up the shiny stone and wondered if I was going to encounter many more of these. I then heard whirling further inside and, as I looked above in the shadows, I saw this mechanical thing, with no legs, but a sphere where its legs were supposed to be. It had intimidating weapons. I thought about fighting past it, but I had to treat this as if it were one giant mansion. I pulled out a potion of invisibility I procured and drank it. In a few seconds, I dashed past the guard and made my way to the other side of the room. Once I was clear, I began to move into the next room, only to discover a mechanical trap. The trap was activated and I rolled out of the way as a stream of fire came at me. I kept moving, acrobatically flipping and tumbling past many of these traps until I was out of the room. I leaned up against a wall and breathed quickly; it was close for me. My weapons were still sheathed and I was slightly singed, but I would live. I opened the door and saw Karliah and Brynjolf waiting for me. The three of us had reunited and now, it was time to stop Mercer.
A little ways away, we saw a large metal grate that may have once been a window or something. I had no idea how dwarves constructed these things, but, it mattered little, as we saw Mercer slicing some sort of creature. It was the Falmar, I was sure of it. This place was crawling with them, as well as those machinations the dwarves made from times past. We even encountered one of those large sentries and turned it on the Falmar. I would have enjoyed watching it, but we had to focus. We had to stop Mercer and restore the honor of the Thieves Guild…
Next Chapter:
Showdown with Mercer…