.

FALNAS

Scoundrel's Folly

City of Riften

"Falnas!" Brynjolf called out, his arms wide open. "I wish I'd been there to see it. That uppity Commander Caius barfing out his lunch on the porch of the Honningbrew meadery. Heard Sabjorn's doing hard time in Dragonsreach, too."

"Yes," Falnas said. "That's a bit unfortunate, he seemed like a decent enough person."

"Well, indecent people end up in jail too." He grinned. "As long as it's not you and me, I'm good with it."

Falnas shrugged, taking the mug of ale Brynjolf held out and sitting down at a table. "Hey, we're the Guild. If we get thrown in jail, we just escape." The Ragged Flagon seemed to be more populated. Faces Falnas hadn't yet seen walked among the flickering torches, and it seemed the infrastructure had improved too. More beds, more furniture, and even a modest archery range.

Brynjolf had noticed him looking around, and his grin widened. "This is thanks to you, for a good part. The work we're doing for Maven isn't the safest, or the most grandiose, but with her connections, we're getting more, and better contracts. It's been a while since Mercer's been able to divert some funds into expansion again."

"So I see," Falnas said. "New recruits, more comfort. Not bad."

"More than that, actually," Brynjolf said. "More inroads into new territory, places that we lost our foothold in years ago. You've been keeping Maven happy, and with Vex, Sapphire and me expanding our presence through the contacts Maven gives us, the Guild is finally out of recession."

Falnas sipped his ale. He wasn't a fan, but gift horse and all that. "So this whole Maven thing is doing the Guild good?"

Brynjolf leaned in, and after a furtive glance, he confided, "Look, I know we shouldn't consider this to be a free lunch. But as long as Maven keeps backing the Guild, we're booming. Even if this leads to big trouble somewhere down the line, and I'm sure it will, there's no way anyone will convince Mercer to sever ties with Maven."

"I may be the new kid," Falnas said, "but I'd hate to see this all go to Oblivion because our boss doesn't know when to quit."

"So far," Brynjolf said, still keeping his voice down, "there's no immediate sign of things going down the crapper, so no reason to worry yet."

"I'm not so sure about that," Falnas told him. "What I saw when I went to report to Maven," the very mention of the fact made the corners of his mouth pull down, "was pretty disconcerting."

Brynjolf frowned. "What do you mean?" But then his eyes went past Falnas and he said, "Tell me later, here comes Delvin." He raised his voice. "Mallory, you old thug, any news from Mercer?"

The man with the shaven head and sharp face gave Falnas a pat on the shoulder. "Good work on 'onningbrew, mate. And yeah, there's news, as it happens. We're wanted with Mercer, all three of us."

"Lead on," Brynjolf said as they rose from their chairs. "Still think the Guild's cursed?"

"Mate," Delvin said, "It ain't that crazy an idea. Look at everything that's happened lately."

Brynjolf blew. "That's just crazy Maven."

"No mate," Delvin said, shaking his head as he walked. "Not that I'm talkin' about. All this opposition, that ain't Maven. Somethin' else is goin' on, an' I wouldn't be surprised if it was the Guild bein' cursed."

Tonilia gave Falnas a mysterious smile when they passed her, while Vex' look was still one of unmitigated hostility. Falnas began to get convinced she was just angry at everyone, all the time.

"Bout time you showed up," Mercer grunted in his rough, unpleasant voice. "Shut up and listen to Delvin." He gave the bald man a nod.

"Been lookin' at that symbol you brought 'ome," Mallory said. "It's familiar, but too early to tell. More importantly though, the manifests you brought back reveal an interestin' little detail."

"To us?" Brynjolf asked, "Or to Maven?"

"Listen here, Brynjolf," Mercer immediately cut in, "Maven is still our number one client, and as long as she keeps paying, we keep doing right by her. That clear?"

"Absolutely," Brynjolf said, looking unperturbed. "Was just asking."

"So yeah," Mallory went on, "I found a connection in the documents. All the deals, for both breweries, were handled, with some detours, by an Argonian called Gulum-Ei. Based in Solitude."

"Isn't he an old Guild contact?" Brynjolf asked.

"Yeah," Mallory answered. "Piss poor one at that. Late payments, shoddy leads. He's the only man we've got in the East Empire Company though."

"So your next job, new guy," Mercer ordered, looking at Falnas, "is to get to Solitude where this Gulum-Ei shit-for-brains works, and get the truth out of him. Beat it out of his scaly hide if you have to."

Falnas shrugged and nodded. "Like dust from a mat."

"Good. East Empire Company in Solitude. Grab a bite to eat and go. It's important," Mercer stressed. Seemed Maven had him on a tight leash.

"Sure. Got my pay for Honningbrew?"

Mercer gave a lopsided grin and plonked a bag of septims on the counter. "Now get. And remember, beat him all you want, but no killing. We need him in the East Empire Company. Pass by Tonilia for a little bit extra before you leave. Brynjolf, I've got something to do for you as well."

Falnas knew better than to stay and listen, so he went to his bunk, put on fresh clothes, and got ready to head out. Before he could leave, though, a familiar face showed up, though it didn't wear its familiar dismissive scowl.

"Hello, Sapphire. Everything alright?"

"M-hm. Just came to say, um..." she trailed off, her eyes going to her finger, which was following one of the seams in the wall.

"Yes?"

She let out a short sigh, as if it did cost her a small amount of effort to get the words past her lips. "Seems I was wrong about you. So far, you've proven a more than a worthy addition to the Guild." Another short sigh. "So yeah. I was wrong, and uh, I guess... well, it's not really an apology, but... just... well. You know."

Falnas smiled at her, sitting on his bed and pulling his boots on. "No need for apologies, I'm just glad you think better of me now."

"I do. Because of all the stuff you did for Maven, we're going back to being the Guild we once used to be. Anyway, um," she cleared her throat, remembering herself, "Just wanted to say good job. Don't get used to it."

"I won't, but I appreciate it."

"Good. Got another job?"

"Yep."

She nodded, "I'll let you get to it."

And get to it he did, packing his stuff, passing by Tonilia, who gave him a spanking new set of leather armour, and then he left, not even stopping to catch a few winks, heading straight out through the cemetery and out of Riften. From there, he headed north to Solitude. Passing Whiterun, he came across a brutally eviscerated carcass of a doe, the remains torn apart, entrails in all directions. Paw prints surrounded the cadaver. Must have been a pretty big wolf, judging from the prints. The doe wasn't long dead, so he cut off a slab from the hind legs and roasted it over a campfire that night.

He awoke at the break of dawn, the doe meat sitting well in his stomach, and went on, stopping by the occasional farm or inn for a meal and a drink. It wasn't long until Solitude came into view. The weather was colder in these parts of Skyrim, and the wind bit right through his cloak.

As he approached the gates, he thought to himself it was high time he bought himself a horse.

It was getting late, and where better to ask around for this East Empire Company than in the local inn? The Winking Skeever was its name, and it was run by an imperial with a horseshoe moustache, called Corpulus. The man, not the moustache. When he came in, the owner was in the middle of a joke, telling the patrons, "I think the Khajiit should go..." he paused for effect, "... Elsweyr."

The patrons roared with laughter at the old pun, but Falnas supposed it was the alcohol being funnier than the actual joke. He found himself grinning at the mirth in spite of himself. He sat down at the bar and ordered a sujamma, which the bartender thankfully had under the counter. Not all taverns had sujamma, and the mead drunk in these parts of Skyrim wasn't Falnas' favourite beverage.

"Hey friend," he asked the bartender while he paid for his drink, "You wouldn't happen to know anyone by the name of Gulum-Ei, would you?"

"That wastrel?" the innkeeper spat. "He's right there, back of the inn. If you've got business with him, remind him to pay his tab while you're at it."

This was him alright. "Appreciate it."

Taking a sip, Falnas observed the Argonian at the back. He sat drinking wine and reading a note, clearly in thought. The note had to be important, or he wouldn't be staring at it like this. And since Falnas didn't believe in coincidences, this probably had to do with the whole Guild business.

"Gulum-Ei?" Falnas said, coming to stand at his table.

"Who wants to know?" the Argonian asked gruffly. Looking up, he added, "Nevermind. I know a Guild thug when I see one. What in Oblivion do you want, crony?" He hastily crumpled the note and stuffed it in his pocket.

Falnas sat down despite the lack of an invite. "What do Guild cronies always want, Gulum-Ei? Information, of course."

"Beat it, I don't have any to give you." He looked away. "We're done here."

"No we're not," Falnas said. "Look here, you've been trouble for the Guild lately. You don't think we'll just leave it at that, do you? We know you've been buying up breweries at the behest of an unknown investor. Someone who works against the Guild." He leaned in. "Now, we're prepared to overlook your part in dicking the Guild over. Just give us the name of the buyer and we'll forget you were a sabotaging little shit."

"Or what," the lizard defied him, "you'll kill me? Doesn't Mercer teach you flunkies anything? Kill me and you lose your only contact with the Company. That's terrible business even for you."

"I'm not talking about killing," Falnas said. "You know we're not into that. And you also know we have other ways of making your life miserable, while still keeping you as a contact. Except the terms won't be as bilateral as they are now."

"If word gets out," the Argonian snapped, "that I betrayed the investor, no one will trust me anymore. And as you know, trust is essential in my business. So if I tell you what you want, I'll be more ruined than the Guild could ever make me. No, I'll just keep right on pissing you off."

Falnas chuckled. "But Gulum-Ei, you're not thinking this through. After all, I could easily make sure that word gets out, no matter if you actually cooperated or not."

The Argonian fixed him with an angry stare.

"All I need to do," Falnas went on, "is let it drop here and there that we talked. People see us sitting in the inn right now. Or maybe I'll just stand up and say, as loud as I can, 'thank you for helping the Guild, Gulum-Ei', and it's books-closed for you."

Gulum-Ei shook his head in disgust. "It's good to see that Mercer is keeping the Guild on an honourable course."

"No honour among thieves, Gulum-Ei." Falnas drew back his upper lip to show he was serious, "Now talk."

"Fine," the Argonian conceded. "I don't know much though."

Falnas reverted to his friendly, chummy self. "Anything can help, Gulum-Ei."

"Had I known this deal would bring me so much trouble," the lizard sighed, "I never would have accepted the gold."

"Like I said, we'll forget all about it if you just point us in the right direction."

"Look, all I know is that I was approached by some ashface who wanted me to make some gold deposits in her name. To buy breweries."

"Got a name?"

"No," the Argonian said, looking pleased not to know. "But she was an angry type. Hated Mercer Frey's guts in particular."

"Interesting that she knew the name," Falnas pointed out. "You must have picked up on that too."

"What do you want me to say?" the Argonian bit at him. "It was business. A lot of gold. You Guild drones of all people should be able to understand that."

"I'm not here to understand," Falnas said curtly. "What else?"

"That's all I know. She didn't tell me her plans or anything. Just told me to buy a few deeds."

"I have a feeling you're not telling me everything."

The Argonian shrugged, finished his wine, and rose. "Have as many feelings as you like, it doesn't change that I don't have anything more to tell you. We're through here." With that, he marched to the bar, dumped a few septims on the counter, and left.

Falnas was determined to do more than just have a feeling. His sujamma already paid for, he waited for half a minute, then made for the exit, pushing between the patrons, enduring the pipe-smoke and the smell of old ale and sweat. The bard had finished her song about a man with red hair who lost his head, and Falnas closed the door behind him, drowning out the clapping of the patrons. He saw Gulum-Ei round a corner, going right on the cobblestoned streets, in the direction of the riverbank. Probably where the East Empire Company had their warehouses. If the Argonian made it there, Falnas realized, he'd be almost impossible to keep track of. He'd have to wait for his opportunity.

He sneaked after his quarry, one with the shadows thanks to the new Guild armour he'd received from Tonilia. The leather was enchanted to blend in with its surroundings, and it made him even more stealthy. He was almost impossible to see now, as long as he stuck to the shadows and moved quietly.

He followed the Argonian through the dark streets, the few torches casting their dancing light on the humid cobblestones. This was going well, the Argonian wasn't too suspicious, only casting the occasional glance behind him, but he still hadn't seen a moment to spring into action. It had to be soon.

He heard the noise the same time the Argonian did, and they both froze. Footsteps, coming closer, from behind them. Falnas ducked behind a water barrel just in time before Gulum-Ei looked over his shoulder.

Two shapes came from the alley behind them, sprinting past. Falnas didn't get a good look at them, but he was pretty certain it was a Bosmer and an Orsimer, both with weapons drawn. The Bosmer shouted at the Orc, panting, "They would if they were sober!"

Then they ran past, disappearing in the direction of the town square in front of the Blue Palace. Whatever they'd been here for, it hadn't been Falnas or Gulum-Ei.

Faintly, Falnas could hear sounds of fighting coming from the direction of the Palace. Whatever it was, it wasn't his business, and Gulum-Ei seemed to agree, walking on, to the narrow streets that veined the downward slope of the city as it descended to the waterfront, the wooden houses becoming smaller and in worse repair the lower the slope became. This was where the fishermen and labourers lived, and it was a far cry from the stone buildings of the upper city.

Between Falnas and Gulum-Ei, a shape zipped past, from one alley into another, so fast Falnas thought it was his imagination. But then the shape emerged from another alley again, this time right behind Gulum-Ei. It looked like a man, wearing a cloak.

Falnas doubted that this man, or thing, had any good intentions with the Argonian.

He kneeled down and watched as Gulum-Ei noticed the other person stalking him.

"What... what do you want?" the lizard stammered, fully aw are of how alone, vulnerable and helpless he was, in these dark alleys where people never opened their shutters during the night, no matter how loudly one cried out.

"What else, cold-blood," the other person said, in a sibilant and hungry voice. "than the life flowing through your veins?"

It wanted his blood? Falnas' breath stopped when he realized what this was. This wasn't a mugger or even a murderer. This was something else entirely, though for Gulum-Ei, the result would be as good as murder if Falnas didn't intervene. It seemed the old wives' tales were true after all.

Falnas had to intervene. The orders were clear: Gulum-Ei must not die. Even if that meant taking on this nightstalker, it had to be done.

It had to be now.

Swallowing despite his dry throat, Falnas leapt from his hiding place and shouted, "Look out, Gulum-Ei! Vampire!"

The Argonian stood flat-footed as the creature lunged for him, its claws grabbing him by the horns and pulling him nearer, but before the fangs could sink in, Falnas threw his weight against the bloodsucker, so hard it took all three of them to the ground.

As they rolled, Falnas felt a fist strike him hard in the side, and the other hand lifted him by his collar with superhuman strength, hurling him to the cobblestones, his back smacking into them. Falnas tried to get to his feet, but a hard kick sent him flying again, and he crashed into a road sign, so hard the post broke in two.

The creature stood over him, its eyes reflecting the light with a faint red sheen, and it hissed, "So much better than the reptile. Come, let me feed on you!"

It reached for Falnas, but he managed to kick upward and catch the thing in the jaw. It was only a brief respite however, as the creature lunged again, its claws hooking around Falnas' wrists. It dragged him closer despite Falnas' struggles, and bared its fangs to sink them into his throat.

Falnas kicked and thrashed, but the monster was impossibly strong, and it pulled him closer, slowly but surely, despite his frantic struggling.

He didn't even feel it when his dagger was pulled from its sheath, but he did feel the claws letting go as the creature shrieked from the stabs Gulum-Ei was raining down on it, sticking it in the upper back and the back of the neck.

It whirled around and swung its fist against the lizard's face, so hard the Argonian was smacked against the wooden wall of a fisherman's house.

The vampire turned back to Falnas, missing its lunge as Falnas flexed back. It clawed at him again, but Falnas dodged the swipe for the second time, though his feet slipped on the humid cobblestones, out from under him, and he went down again.

"Now you die," the thing screeched, but Falnas' reaching hand settled on a long, wooden object, and he grabbed hold of it.

The vampire threw itself on Falnas, impaling itself on the sharp end of the broken signpost.

Its dead mask of a face perplexed, the vampire gurgled, a thin line of sticky black blood issuing from the corner of its mouth. Its hands clawed the air a few times, but then they hung limp as the creature slowly slid down the stake it was transfixed on, before coming to rest inches from Falnas' face.

"That got him," Falnas grunted, throwing the disgusting thing off him. Gulum-Ei lived, and seemed more or less hale, apart from what was probably a case of scrambled brain. "You alright?"

The Argonian's head slowly went up and down. "That was a..."

"Vampire, yes," Falnas said, laboriously getting back to his feet. He hurt all over from the falls he'd done. "Dead now. I hope." He gave the transfixed monster a hard kick, but nothing happened.

"You saved my scales just now," Gulum-Ei breathed. "There's no telling what that thing would have done if you hadn't..."

"It would have drained you dry, I wager," Falnas said, still looking at the corpse. The skin was stretched tight over its skull, and terrible fangs stood in its open mouth. This was definitely one of the vampires people told about by the campfire. Shit, these things were real.

"Thanks for the rescue," Gulum-Ei breathed. "I mean it. I guess I owe you one."

"You sure do," Falnas said, rubbing his throbbing ribs.

"Karliah."

"What?"

"Karliah. That was her name. The ashface... well, Dunmer... who wanted me to buy those deeds. I did some digging, and turns out she murdered the last Guildmaster. And now she's got her sights set on Mercer Frey."

That was worrying news indeed. "So like, an assassin?"

"Don't think so," Gulum-Ei said. "But she wants him dead, I'm pretty sure of it. I didn't know when I accepted the deal. Just so you know."

"Where can we find her?"

"I don't know where she is now, but she mentioned she'd be... what did she say..." The Argonian thought for a moment. "Right. 'Where the end began'. No idea what she meant though."

"Appreciate it, Gulum-Ei. Now head home, or somewhere safe. I've got a feeling this wasn't the only one."

"I think that's best, yes," Gulum-Ei said, looking around, down the dark alleys. "I'll fill out the damn ledger tomorrow."

"Good. One more thing?" Falnas asked, determined to milk this to the fullest.

"What?"

"You're back on the Guild payroll from now on. Any job leads, you come to us. Our people need things they need fencing, they come to you. We'll pay you for good leads, but you work exclusively for us, so we can get a foothold in Solitude again. That work for you?"

He nodded. "It works. Just don't mention this to Maven. Please."

"Don't worry," Falnas said, "I wouldn't even let Maven know if the world ended tomorrow."