Dear reader,
The Thieves Guild survived a trial by fire and now the guild members are keen to hue retribution from Mercer Frey's hide. However, in order to gain vengeance, they will have to find their former Guild Master. Brynjolf has grudgingly accepted the mantle of Guild Master to ensure that this happens, the hunt is on!
Stolen Heart
By: Anonymous
- Chapter 13: The Hunt -
The manor was lavish. With the exception of the homes of Jarls and nobles, Cathryne had never seen such exuberance. It was obscene and yet very befitting of Mercer and his attitude. The moment they entered the manor, the sound of footsteps had startled them and they quickly piled in to the nearest room; the bedroom.
Brynjolf was rummaging through every single piece of furniture in sight for leads on Mercer's whereabouts. The contents of several wardrobes and chests lay strewn over the floor and even the immaculately laid bed was left in disarray.
"Nothing here." He finally concluded "How are things looking out there?"
"Clear on the upper level but there are people downstairs." Cathryne replied, glancing out at the hallway through a small crack in the door.
"We'll have to get rid of them." Brynjolf said as he joined her by the door. "You keep looking up here. I'll go and sort them out."
"Are you sure?" Cathryne asked, looking up at him.
"Positive. You've got enough blood on your hands because of this guild." He smiled at her "Even if it's mostly Dragon's blood."
"Alright. I won't argue with you… Guild Master."
He scowled at her and slapped her firmly on the backside "That is your one and only warning, lass. Next time I'll have to be rough with you."
She yelped at the sharp stinging on her behind then grinned at him "Is that a threat, or a promise?"
"Mmmm… perhaps both? Let's see how things end up, eh?" he opened the door and disappeared downstairs to face the mercenaries.
Cathryne watched him leave, she smiled to herself her thoughts dwelled on how deeply she'd fallen for Brynjolf. With that thought in mind, she resolved to do everything she could to help him, and his guild, which would begin with sorting out Mercer. She stood up and walked towards the nearby store room.
The mercinaries were engrossed in a game of cards, a small pile of coins and the odd gemstone were stacked in the centre of a round table as four burly men stared one another down from behind their hands.
"I see ya and raise ya!" one said, throwing more coins on the pile.
"Yeah yeah. Big talk as ever but ya never have the balls to go 'till the end!" another jeered, also throwing coins on the pile "I raise."
"Not this again. Can't you two do anythin' without comparin' to each other?"
"Na!" The fourth laughed and took a swig of ale"These two compare everythin' … if ya get my meanin'…"
"Shut up, bastard!"
Brynjolf watched them quietly, they seemed to be engrossed in their game which was good if he was robbing them blind of all their worldly possessions, but he needed access to every room – to every possible clue that Mercer would have left. In this situation, their togetherness was a distinct hindrance. He couldn't slip in and kill one without three others noticing him and three on one was generally a pain in the arse that he could live without.
"I fold!" one of them growled before standing from the table "I'm gonna go have a piss."
"Yeah yeah run off little boy. Let the big men play."
The mercenary punched his comrade across the back of the head and stalked out of the room towards the toilet. Brynjolf followed him. The mercenary was stood with his back to Brynjolf, muttering about how lady luck must hate him.
"You have no idea, lad." Brynjolf thought as he dragged the edge of his ebony blade across the man's throat and quickly backed away to avoid being covered in blood.
He returned to his vantage point just outside of the sitting room where the mercenaries were playing cards. He bit his lip as he ran through the possible ways of taking out three mercenaries in his head. However, it seemed that something was favouring him, whether it was a Daedra, a Divine or just dumb luck was irrelevant, another of the mercenaries threw his hand down and got up.
"Gonna go get another ale, anyone want one?"
"Aye." The other two called out as the third left to get another drink.
Brynjolf followed him as he disappeared down in to the basement. He readied his dagger as the man bent down to pick up some bottles of mead. He drove the keen tip of his dagger in to the back of the mercenary's neck and swiftly withdrew the blade, to be certain Brynjolf stabbed the mercenary in the chest as well. He then climbed back up the stairs and stalked towards the sitting room, his dagger in hand.
Two on one he could handle.
"Ha ha! Read 'em and weep!" one mercenary shouted at the other, he rose both his arms up in jubilation and laughed. "I do love takin' all yer gold!"
Brynjolf crept up behind the man and swiftly reached out. He grabbed him by the chin and tipped his head back before dragging the ebony blade over his exposed throat and pushing him off the chair and on to the floor. He then looked down at the last mercenary.
"Evening, lad." He said with a small smirk "Not a good one for you, I'm afraid."
"Shit!" The mercenary grabbed a sword from the table and stood up "I'm gonna make you pay!"
"Ah. To the pain, then?" Brynjolf replied and kicked the game table towards the man. A spray of cards and coins flew at him. The mercenary reached out to stop the table from hitting him, only to find that Brynjolf was beside him.
"N-No… please!" The mercenary uttered, his eyes wide with fear.
"Sorry lad. You caught me at a bad time. I'm not in a mood to show mercy." Brynjolf promptly stabbed the man in the chest and kicked him to the floor "Especially not for any of Mercer's rabble."
Cathryne walked in "All done?"
"Aye. Anything upstairs?" Brynjolf looked over at her and frowned as she shook her head "Damn. Guess we'll have to hope for something down here. I'll go check the basement."
"Alright. I'll look around in here." Cathryne crouched down to search the fallen mercenaries for clues.
Brynjolf returned to the basement, it was full of expensive food and imported mead. A small twinge of annoyance filled him as he looked at the decadence around him. The guild had not eaten this well for many years, yet Mercer was living a very lavish lifestyle. He began to wonder just how the traitorous Guild Master had managed it. His gut told him it was at the expense of everyone else…
"Brynjolf!" he looked up, it was Cathryne's voice.
"What?" he called, hurrying back up the stairs. He ran in to the room and found her standing before a hidden passage. He chuckled "Good work, lass."
They quickly descended the grimy staircase, it led them to a small secret tunnel which smelt distinctly like a sewer and made Brynjolf think of the Ratways. The stones were covered in the familiar greenish slime that most of the Ratway's tunnels were graced with and a distinct damp aroma hung in the air.
They walked quietly and cautiously down the hallway, tiptoeing over traps and making as little noise as they possibly could. The odd skeever lunged out to attack them, but the vermin were quickly dispatched by Brynjolf's blade and Cathryne's bow.
The claustrophobic pathways eventually opened up in to a small room which upon closer inspection seemed to be like a hidden office. A desk strewn with papers was Brynjolf's first target. Cathryne's eyes were drawn to a display case which she quickly went to examine.
"Ah… Here we are, this looks promising." Brynjolf picked up a piece of paper that had fallen down behind the desk "It's a map and Mercer's written something about an ancient treasure that could set him up for life in Cyrodil if he gets it."
"… Sounds like him." Cathryne replied, looking over from the display case "But… perhaps it's too obvious?"
"Like I said, lass. We need to spring a few traps if we're going to lay our hands on him."
It was true, but the thought of playing any further in to Mercer's hands left a sickening feeling in Cathryne's stomach "Yeah. You're right. Where's the map lead to?"
"Let's see… it's a map to an old tomb." He smirked at Cathryne "I have a fondness for old tombs these days…"
She blushed slightly and looked away "I don't know what you could be referring to…"
"Well lass, I might just have to make you remember… if we get a few moments to ourselves. For now, let's track Mercer down and make him regret crossing the guild." He gripped the map tightly, crumpling it in his fist.
She nodded and left the office with him, they escaped the manor and met up with Vex and Delvin just outside the Bee and Barb. Brynjolf explained the next move and rejected Delvin's offer to tag along. Vex glanced between Brynjolf and Cathryne, her gaze was keen. She had them figured out, her fist connected with Delvin's shoulder.
"Leave the lovebirds to it. They need some alone time." She teased.
Brynjolf coughed slightly and looked away "Now lass, there's no need to start assuming—"
"Oh put a sock in it, Bryn. You're not fooling anyone. You two are an item and… well. You're good together." Vex folded her arms and looked at each of them in turn "Go and do what you have to do with Mercer, then come back to us with some treasure. I don't really care what sort of relationship you two have. It's none of my business."
"Thank you Vex." Cathryne smiled "I'll make sure we get some shiny loot for the guild."
Brynjolf laughed and nodded "Aye lass. We'll bring home a fortune, will that make you crack a wee smile?"
Vex scowled at him "Up yours, Bryn."
~End of Chapter 13~
^^ It's strange, we're pretty much at the end of this story now - I'm so thrilled by all of the positive contributions that have been made by reviewers and favourite-rs. You really have helped to keep me inspired on this journey, so thank you all! See you in the final chapter! :D