Chapter 10
It was nearly dawn by the time Mercer Frey finally showed up. One lone bandit was standing guard outside the doors leading inside but he was no match for Mercer's sword. The same sword he had used on Karianna to drain the very life from her body. Once he had covered the body with a fur pelt to make it look like he was asleep, Mercer slipped inside. When Karliah gave the signal for them to move, they emerged from their hiding spots and crept up on the still sleeping bandits.
"I'll go in first and pick off any stragglers," Karliah said when they were at the large, ornate doors separating the ancient Dwemer ruins from the rest of the world. "Brynjolf follow me and Karianna can pick up the rear."
The two Nightingales nodded in agreement to their senior and followed her lead. With the new armor, their movements were as silent as the wind, even on the hard stone floors in the ruins. Even though the bodies littering the passageways were all dead, they kept to the shadows in case anything should try to catch them by surprise. Occasionally, a mechanical spider or spherical sentry wandered into their paths, no doubt woken up by Mercer's intrusion, but they were quickly dispatched by one of Karliah's arrows. Eventually they found their way to another set of large doors which were left ajar due to the dead body of a Falmer being wedged into the doorway.
"Great, I really hate the Falmer," Karianna whispered to herself but apparently Brynjolf had heard her for he chuckled in reply.
"Look! Down there!" Karliah said quietly.
They followed her gaze down over the outcropping they were on to see a dark figure moving through the mist and shadows that filled the room. Every time the shadow reached a Falmer sentry, the sentry would drop dead. The Falmer's blinded eyesight kept them from seeing their comrades' demise and Mercer's silent movements prevented their death cries from being noticed.
"That bastard's a step ahead of us," Brynjolf cursed. "C'mon, we have to hurry."
Continuing on as silently as possible, they dispatched the remaining Falmer. The operation was running smoothly until they reached the next room which was filled to the brim with Falmer of every variety along with their little pets the Chaurus. In the center of the room was a gargantuan automaton Karianna recognized as a Centurion. She followed the pipework surrounding it to a control panel directly to their left.
"Guys, I know how we can get rid of the Falmer."
She quickly explained to them her plan. Brynjolf seemed all for the plan but Karliah was hesitant.
"What if it turns on us and attacks?" she asked.
"Then we kill it," Karianna replied with a shrug.
"Yeah, the three of us, there no way that thing stand a chance," Brynjolf agreed.
Even though the controls were labeled in Dwarven characters, Karianna managed to find the right lever which activated the Centurion. With the hiss of escaping steam and huge footsteps that seemed to shake the cavern, the automaton sprang to life and immediately targeted the surrounding Falmer. The trio took refuge behind the control panel until the Centurion smashed it to pieces. They leapt into action, abandoning all hope of stealth and began cutting down enemies. Karliah climbed onto a ledge and picked off what she could. Meanwhile, Brynjolf and Karianna dove into the thick of things and began cutting through the ranks of Falmer left behind by the Centurion. When the numbers had thinned considerably, Karianna focused her attacks on the Centurion itself as Brynjolf held off the remaining Falmer.
At long last, the Dragonborn finished off the Centurion. It stood in place for a few moments before leaning and finally tipping over. Karianna might have been able to doge it, but a few straggling Falmer distracted her. Even though she was able to dispatch them quickly, this still kept her from noticing the gargantuan automaton that was about to crush her.
"Karianna! Look out!" Karliah cried from her perch.
Brynjolf rushed forward, threw his arms around her and pulled her to safety. Karianna was still in shock to realize that she was clutching onto the front of Brynjolf's armor for dear life until she heard his all too familiar chuckle in her ear. Feeling her face burn hot and thanking the Eight that her mask covered it, she let go and push away.
"Are you alright?" Karliah asked as she ran up to them.
"Yeah, everything's fine!" Karianna said quickly. She hoped they didn't notice the quiver in her voice.
'Pull yourself together. There's no reason to act like this,' she scolded herself.
She quickly looked around the cavernous room they were in for any clues as to where Mercer went. The walls were rough but unbroken and all of the crude Falmer huts had only one entrance and exit. All that remained was the large door with Dwarven carvings to decorate the metal once she eliminated the way they had come which was now clogged with the dead bodies of countless Falmer warriors and mages. For a fleeting moment, Karianna wondered just how large the population was. Despite the numbers she had slaughtered in her travels, they still seemed to pour endlessly from the very depths of the earth.
"Karianna? Are you alright, love?" Brynjolf asked.
'Love?' No. Sure she heard him wrong. Shaking her head to dispel the thought, she pointed at the door just visible through the blue glow that filled the cavern.
"I'm no tracking expert, but I'm pretty sure Mercer Frey went that way."
"Then, let's go. We have no time to waste," Karliah said.
Indeed he was there. As was the statue depicting the Snow Prince. The last known visual representation of the Snow Elves before they devolved into the creatures they are now. Mercer was clinging to the face of the statue and prying the remaining eye from its socket. No doubt the bulging package strapped to his side contained the right eye. Karliah hushed them and ducked into the shadows behind a boulder.
"There he is," she said bitterly.
"It seems he hasn't spotted us, yet," Brynjolf observed. "Karliah. You-."
"Karliah, you sly fox. I know you're down there," Mercer yelled suddenly. With one more strike with his tool, the eye tumbled free and he was able to jump down from the statue's face to tuck it away next to its brother. "And you've brought the Dragonborn, I see."
Karianna felt rage course through her system. Against her companions' advices, she stepped out from the shadows.
"Give it up, Mercer. We have you cornered," she said evenly.
The former Guild Master laughed. "No, little thief, it's you who is cornered. I have the Skeleton Key! The power of our Lady Nocturnal herself! What do you have? Her blessing?"
He was mocking her. She knew it. But is words were true nonetheless. Mercer held untold power with that Key. Karliah had told them how it was not only able to unlock any mortal lock, but all the potential hidden away inside a person. Even from the base of the statue she could feel the power emanating from him and see the shadows moving toward him as if they wished to embrace him and hide him away from any and all eyes.
"Enough talk," Karianna snarled and drew her warhammer. "Give us the Skeleton Key or I'll pry it from your cold, dead fingers."
Mercer threw his head back and laughed once more before he disappeared from sight. "Come and get it," his disembodied voice said.
"Branch out! We can't let him escape!" Brynjolf ordered. "Karliah, make sure he doesn't get past you. Karianna, you take the right side, I'll take the left. Keep your eyes sharp."
About halfway up the stairs that lead around the statue, Karianna felt a sharp pain in her side and felt her life drain away. She remembered enough from Snow Veil Sanctum to know it was Mercer's blade. So she whirled and swung her hammer before her, hoping to land a strike. A soft chuckle from the top of the stairs alerted her to his presence. Winding up once more, she charged and sung blindly only to miss. A blow to the back of her neck caused her to lose her grip on her hammer and a strong kick from nowhere sent it flying over the edge.
"Karianna! Look out!" Karliah shouted from below.
Just then, invisible hands gripped her throat and cut the air off from her lungs.
"Shoot him, Karliah!" Brynjolf's frantic shout came from her left.
"I can't! I don't have a clear shot!"
Mercer laughed. His hot breath hit her face like a wave. "That's right. The mighty Dragonborn is cut down once and for all by a petty thief! Where's that famous Shout of yours? Sabre cat got your tongue?!"
Karianna gathered her remaining strength and placed a foot to his chest to push him off. She nearly collapsed as the oxygen rushed back into her.
"That's right, I am the Dragonborn," she choked as her vision cleared. She kept her eyes to the ground and watched his footprints in the dirt. "I've slayed more dragons than you could count. And you know what, Mercer? That unlocks something in you after a while."
There! He was in the perfect position. Ignoring the pain in her throat and chest, she drew in as much air as she could hold.
"FUS…. ROH! DAH!"
The Shout of Unrelenting Force hit Mercer Frey full on and with enough strength to destroy the invisibility spell that cloaked him. The three Nightingales watched as he slammed into the wall above Karliah with a sickening crack and tumbled down where he landed with his neck at an impossible angle. The Elven woman grabbed the Skeleton Key and the Eyes of the Falmer before running to join her companions at the base of the statue. Not soon after Karianna recovered her hammer and sheathed it on her back once more did a rumbling shake the cavern. Cracks appeared in the ceiling and the ancient pipes burst one by one and dumped their contents on the thieves. At the same moment, the statue's head broke away to reveal a hidden passageway that, although filled with more water, seemed to lead to the surface.
"Here!" Brynjolf cried and tossed the women Waterbreathing potions. "Wait unti the right moment!"
That moment, it seemed, came all too soon as they were submerged in murky water. Karianna had no idea how long the potion would last so she swam with all her might towards the dim light that filtered through. At one point she got caught on a piece of debris and heard the sound of ripping fabric but she had no time to stop and make sure she hadn't lost anything. It was only when she felt as if her lungs would burst that her head broke through the surface and air, cold and crisp, flooded her lungs. For her remaining years, she promised the Divines that she would never take fresh air for granted again. Once her vision cleared and she was able to make out the shoreline, she mustered whatever energy she had left and swam for it.
"Where's Brynjolf?" she gasped when she flopped onto the shore beside Karliah.
"I don't know," she panted. "I thought he was behind you."
"No…," Karianna moaned and turned back to the lake they had just swam out of.
They watched the water until a fog rolled in and a chill crept through their armor and into their bones. Brynjolf never surfaced.
Karianna had been in countless battles in her life. Each battle was filled with loss on both sides of the field. Friends. Companions. Shield brothers and sisters. From the day she awoke next to Ulfric Stormcloak in a carriage bound for execution she had been surrounded by death. But this loss cut her like none other. Tears welled up in her eyes for the first time she could remember.
"Brynjolf," she sobbed. The tears spilled over and cut through the chill in her face. "It's all my fault…. I used the Shout to kill Mercer…. I caused the cavern to collapse and flood."
Karliah said nothing to object but simply looked at Karianna with sad eyes.
Karianna reached into her armor to pull out the Amulet of Mara only to find it missing. All that was left was the fabric Brynjolf had used to mend her wounds at Goldenglow Estate. She gripped it tightly as a fresh pain cut through her chest. She would have gladly been stabbed by a dozen copies of Mercer's blade.