Chapter 4

Back at the Thieves Guild, Karianna and Brynjolf parted ways. Brynjolf went to send his report to Mercer Frey and Maven Black-Briar while Karianna left to clean up and replace the burned armor. After dealing with the sour fence merchant, Tonilia, who was none too happy to hear that Karianna had gotten the brand new armor destroyed on her very first mission. After handing over a few hundred gold for the replacement, she headed over to the sleeping quarters and removed her Steel Plate armor and locked her gear away in a chest before laying down for some shut eye. But it seemed that no sooner had she fallen asleep than she felt a hand on her shoulder and a harsh voice in her ear telling her to wake up.

"Wake up, you," the voice said.

Karianna moaned and turned over to look at the person who disturbed her sleep. It turned out to be Vex, one of the only other women in the Guild.

"What's wrong?" Karianna asked groggily.

"Mercer Frey is asking for you. Says it's urgent."

"Tell him I'll be there in a minute," she replied as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"Well, make it quick, I'm not your messenger," Vex snapped.

Biting her tongue, Karianna shook the sleep from her limbs and retrieved her gear from the chest. Out in the cistern stood Mercer Frey at his desk. Behind him was a set of shelves adorned with various pieces of unique loot from all over Skyrim including a statue of a queen bee made of solid gold, a decanter with golden filigree winding up the sides, a model ship adorned with precious gems, a puzzle cube that seemed to be Dwarven in design and origin, the bust of a man Karianna recognized as the infamous Gray Fox, and even a large map labeled "East Empire Trading Company Trading Routes." Below the map was a bust that seemed to be reserved for a crown of some sorts and on either side of the bust were two slots that looked like empty eye sockets.

Sensing her presence, Mercer Frey looked up and followed Karianna's gaze to the eye sockets. "I'm saving that spot for the Eyes of the Falmer. Ever since my master, the former Guildmaster, told me about them I have always wanted to go after them. And there they would sit to watch over the rest of my collection," he told her with a certain sense of pride coloring his voice. "If only old Gallus were still alive to join me on my quest for the Eyes. But Karliah saw to it that he'd never even see the light of day."

"Who's Karliah?" Karianna asked.

Mercer gave her a look that said 'another time.' "I wanted to congratulate you on a successful job last night. Not even Vex, one of our best thieves, could infiltrate Goldenglow Estate; the mercenaries were on her in an instant and nearly killed her." Now Karianna understood why Vex wasn't too fond of her. Karianna had succeeded where Vex had failed. "Now, then, onto the next order of business. Maven Black-Briar wants to speak with you personally about your next job. Meet her at the Bee and Barb in one hour. Some advice when dealing with Maven. Be on your best behavior around her. Be polite and do not speak unless spoken to. She and her family have been patrons to the Guild for centuries. Plus, she's none too happy to learn that the document you recovered from Aringoth's safe was the Bill of Sale for Goldenglow."

Traveling through the secret entrance which lead out into the graveyard behind the Temple of Mara, Karianna made her way to the inn. There, Keevara gave her a death glare from behind the counter but the Dragonborn simply nodded and smiled as she headed up the stairs to the room where she was supposed to meet Maven Black-Briar in. She sat at a small table in the corner of the room and pulled out a small meal of bread and cheese along with a bottle of mead to pass the time. Sure enough, an hour after she had arrived, a woman wearing a dark cloak arrived and sat in the seat opposite of Karianna.

"Hmph. So you're the one Mercer sent to help me deal with my… 'problem.' You don't look like much, but you must be something special to be able to get in and out of Goldenglow Estate with those mercenaries crawling all over the place," Maven said. She lowered her hood to reveal her face which was pinched in a regal way for a Nord and her dark hair fell down her back from where it was pinned back. "I need you to sabotage Honningbrew Meadery outside of Whiterun. The owner's assistant, Mallus Maccius, is willing to help and has come up with a nice little plot. Meet him at the Bannered Mare in Whiterun for the rest of the details."

"Yes, ma'am," Karianna said politely.

"Hmph," Maven huffed haughtily. "Meet me back here once you've sorted everything out. Don't worry about time, I'll know once you've completed the job."

Resisting the urge to ask how she would know, Karianna left the inn and made her way to the stable where she rented a carriage for the journey to Whiterun. There, she hobbled her way into the city and into the Bannered Mare. Luckily, this innkeeper didn't hate her so when she asked where she could find a man named Mallus, the keeper pointed her to a man drinking from a tankard in a dark corner.

"Are you Mallus Maccius?" she asked the man.

"Yes… are… are you from the Thieves Guild?" the man asked in return. When Karianna nodded, Mallus turned pale and his eyes widened. "We shouldn't talk here, follow me upstairs."

Once they were away from the prying eyes and ears of the Bannered Mare's patrons, Mallus looked at Karianna.

"The owner of Honningbrew Meadery is cruel and sour man by the name of Sabjorn. He's hosting a taste testing ceremony for the commander of the guards here in Whiterun. I want you to sabotage the mead Sabjorn had brewed specifically for the ceremony," he explained.

"And how do you expect me to do that?" she asked arching a brow.

"It's no secret that Sabjorn has a Skeever problem. It's why he doesn't have as many customers as the Black-Briars, well… that and his mead isn't as good of quality as Black-Briar Mead. Anyways, he's been looking for someone to take care of the problem. He's even concocted a special poison for the task. I told him I had some affairs elsewhere to attend to, otherwise he'd have me do it." He gave Karianna a sly smile. "This is where you come in. Walk in, offer to take care of his problem and once you've killed the Skeevers, use some of the poison on the vat of mead for the ceremony."

"How am I supposed to get to the vat? Surely it's locked away or something-." She began before Mallus interrupted.

"The Meadery and Brewing House are both connected through the basement tunnels. He's had the storage tunnels expanded so many times, it's why there's such a big Skeever infestation. You should go, now, the ceremony is this evening."

Sabjorn turned out to be just as sour as Mallus described him to be. After he reluctantly handed over the poison and key to the basement, he shooed her away so that he could finish his preparations for the ceremony. Slaying the Skeevers was easy enough to accomplish for the Dragonborn, the only problem was a man who appeared to have been living beside the Skeever nest. According to the journal Karianna found, the man had escaped from Whiterun's prison and was trying to raise an army to smite his enemies using the Skeevers and his formidable magic and alchemy skills.

"Good! You've returned!" Sabjorn exclaimed after Karianna entered through the front door and the Meadery once she had made a quick stop through the brewery to add the poison. "You're going to have to wait until after the ceremony before I can pay you. Now, go stand over there and wait."

Karianna made a show to sigh and roll her eyes before walking away so that the commander and owner could talk. Soon, Sabjorn lead Commander Caius through a door that lead into the brewery. Mallus Maccius entered soon after and together, he and Karianna listened at the door. They heard Sabjorn tell Caius about the backstory to this new mead of his before Caius told Sabjorn to get on with it. Then they heard Caius choking and commanding for Sabjorn to be arrested by the guards accompanying them. The Dragonborn and assistant leaped back from the door as the guards dragged Sabjorn through the door and into the main part of the Meadery.

"You!" Sabjorn bellowed when he spotted Mallus and Karianna. "You're behind this! You're in leagues with Maven Black-Briar! I'll have you both hanged for this!"

"Quiet, you!" the guard leading him ordered. "Trying to poison the commander of the guards and then pin the crime on a Thane of Whiterun… despicable."