Chapter 9
When Karianna finally stepped out of the house, the sky was turning from inky black to steel grey. She walked around to the front of the house and sat down on the stone steps of the building next door to Mercer Frey's house. The potion Brynjolf had given her more than helped her throat. In the reflection of her dagger, she watched the bruises fade and felt the swelling leave.
When the sky was beginning to change into a sheet of pink tinged with gold, she turned and looked at the building she was sitting in front of. It was the Temple of Mara. Right behind it stood the cemetery which housed the hidden entrance to the Thieves Guild. Even though she had been in Riften for a while, now, she had never been inside the Temple of Mara. Nor did she even know what Mara was a patron of seeing as her memory before waking up in a carriage as a prisoner on the way to her execution was completely blank even to this day. She always felt awkward asking priests and priestesses about the deity they serve even though they treated her as a foreigner. She knew she should know every name of the Nine Divines. Their names stuck to her tongue when she tried to recall their stories but it was only after hearing the stories again that she felt the puzzle pieces fall into place.
"You look troubled, my child," a gentle voice commented.
She wheeled around and looked at the stranger who disrupted her train of thought. It was a priest she recognized from the Bee and the Barb who occasionally stood and tried to convince the patrons to repent.
"I… I was trying to remember something," she admitted.
"What were you trying to remember?" he asked in a kind tone.
"The story of Mara." She gestured to the temple.
The priest broke out into a smile. "Ah, of course. Mara is, as you know, one of the Nine Divines. She is the wife of Akatosh and the handmaiden of Kyne. She is considered by many as the Mother-Goddess and by all to be the goddess of love. Here in Skyrim, women who are available and ready for marriage wear her amulet. This allows a man, usually one the woman has been courting, to propose to her. And then of course, there's her verse: Come to me, Mara, for without you, I might forget the ways of our fathers, and preening by the light of latest fashion, my words might tremble like the thin reeds of novelty in the tempest of enthusiasms."
"Where… where can I find an Amulet of Mara?" Karianna asked.
"Why… we make them right here at the temple. I'd be happy to provide you with one for two-hundred septims," the priest said kindly.
A few minutes later, she departed from the temple with her newly purchased amulet safely wrapped in the piece of cloth Brynjolf had used to dress her wounds and tucked away deep into her armor. When she knew the priest had gone inside, she walked around the temple to the cemetery. Just as she was opening to entrance to the Guild, she ran into Devin who told her that Brynjolf and Karliah were looking for her.
"They know where to find Mercer and they want your help catching him," Delvin explained.
In order to prepare for the final fight with Mercer, Karliah explained that they needed to become initiated as Nightingales. Only with the blessing of Nocturnal, their patron deity, would they be able to truly kill Mercer and retrieve what he has stolen.
"You mean that strange key he used to get into Snow Veil Sanctum," Karianna verified.
"Yes. It is known as the Skelton Key. It's the principal artifact belonging to Nocturnal. An unbreakable lockpick that can be used on any and all doors in the mortal world," Karliah explained.
"No one deserves that kind of power," Karianna muttered.
At this, Karliah nodded in agreement. "Good, then you understand the severity of Mercer Frey's crime. Unfortunately, the only way we can restore balance to the Guild is to return the Skeleton Key to the Twilight Sepulcher, Nocturnal's temple. Her shrine. And the only way to gain access to that is by joining the Nightingales by taking on Nocturnal's oath and blessing."
"And you want the three of us to do just that," Brynjolf confirmed.
"Yes."
"Then what are we waiting for? I'm ready to send that bastard to Oblivion," Karianna sneered.
The journey to the Nightingales' home wasn't too far. It stood just south of Riften near the Shadow Stone where Necromancers tended to gather for their profane rituals. Nightingale Hall was a long way from its former glory but as they walked through the ancient halls, Karianna was able to sense what the place had once been. Once they had dawned their new armor in the Nightingale fashion, they took their places on the floor glyphs atop three pillars that surrounded a central pillar.
"Nocturnal, our Night Mother, please accept our devotion. Accept our service. Allow us to serve you. To protect you. Give us your blessing so we may uphold your honor," Karliah chanted once they were in place.
As Karliah chanted, a large ball of energy formed on the center pillar which made the hair on the back of Karianna's neck stand on end. She watched the ball of energy grow and could swear that the shadows around the room undulated in the presence of the energy. Once Karliah had finished her chant for the third time, a cool voice appeared from everywhere and nowhere.
"Ahhh, my dear Karliah. I see you return," the voice crooned. "And… you bring two new initiates."
"Nocturnal, we wish to take on your blessing in order to retrieve the Skelton Key from the traitorous Mercer Frey," Karliah replied.
"But, my dear Karliah, you have nothing to offer me unlike these initiates. You have already pledged your life to me." The shadows around the room continued to move and take on new shapes as Nocturnal spoke. "And you have failed," she added.
"That is true, my lady, but I can offer you the head of Mercer Frey. He is the one at fault. He was the one who killed Gallus and stole from his own companions as well as yourself."
After a moment's consideration, Nocturnal agreed and had the trio repeat the oath. Once completed and accepted, the newly inducted Nightingales departed for Mercer Frey's location.
"Which is where?" Karianna asked as they prepared their horses.
"Irkngthand. It is said to house the only known image of the Falmer before they became the creatures they are now," Karliah explained.
"They used to be known as the Snow Elves, right?" Karianna inquired remembering the book she had stolen from Calcemo.
"Correct," Karliah confirmed. "That is, until their leader was killed by a Nord child seeking revenge for the death of her mother at the hands of the Snow Prince himself. After their leader died, the Snow Elves retreated and were taken in as slaves to the Dwemer. They were fed toxic mushrooms in order to make them more… compliant. This caused them to degenerate into what they are now. Only one visage remains of their former leader, the Snow Prince. The eyes of this statue are known as-."
"The Eyes of the Falmer," Brynjolf finished
"Yes."
It took them many nights to reach Irkngthand, luckily, though, according to the journal, Mercer didn't plan on heading straight for the Dwemer city. Instead, he was going to make a few stops to pay off some debts and steal some loot he had his eyes on before going west of Windhelm where Irkngthand stood. When they reached the snowy mountains encompassing the ruins, Karliah left to scout the area as Brynjolf and Karianna set up their camp. When they had finished setting things up, they sat in silence and waited for Karliah.
Finally, they couldn't take the silence any longer.
"Brynjolf."
"Karianna."
They stopped and realized they had spoken simultaneously.
"You first," Karianna chuckled.
"No," he insisted, "ladies first."
The Dragonborn paused and thought for a brief moment. "I wanted to thank you… for saving my life, I mean. You were there for me… twice."
"Well, the first time you didn't necessarily need saving so much as patching up." Brynjolf looked into their small fire. Was it just a trick of the light or was his face turning red? "I wanted to thank you, as well…," he added. "For potentially saving the Guild. And I'm sorry."
"For what?" she asked.
"For getting you mixed up in all of this. There's a chance we might not all make it."
Karianna laughed. "I've been in worse situations than this." She moved closer to him on the log they shared by the fire. "And besides, this is probably the most fun I've had since I slayed my first dragon."
Now it was Brynjolf's turn to laugh. "A dragon slayer, a thief… is there anything you can't do?"
She smiled and turned to say something else but stopped. He was looking at her with such eyes… she had never seen anyone look at her like that before. Or maybe, she just hadn't been paying attention when they did. Her smile faded when he reached for her face and pulled her in for a kiss which cut through the chill she hadn't noticed was there before. Her Nordic blood usually kept her warm on even the coldest nights on the highest peak of the Throat of the World where she had trained to use her Thu'um, but now a different kind of warmth spread through her.
At the sound of a snapping branch and a light footfall through the snow, they broke apart to find Karliah standing at the edge of their camp. Karianna quickly slid away and wondered how much Karliah had seen. Her unspoken question was left unanswered as Karliah gave them a report of bandits who had taken over the outside of the ruins and were using it as their own base of operations.
"Then I guess it's time to go bandit hunting," Karianna said grabbing for her hammer.
"Not until we're sure Mercer has gone inside," Karliah ordered. "If he comes and finds an empty bandit camp, he'll flee and gods only know what he'll do next."
"How long do you suggest we wait?" Brynjolf asked.
"Until next nightfall. We'll spread out and communicate using the Nightingales' Call."
"Alright, as soon as the sun sets tomorrow night, we'll go in and slay the bandits. We don't need them coming in after us and barring the exit. Until then…." Karianna's voice trailed off.
"Until then." Karliah and Brynjolf agreed.