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FALNAS

Blood Rights

The Ratway

"Well, it proves enough for me," Arska muttered, frowning at the letter she was holding.

It had better. It said in clear terms that Maven had written to Astrid, whom Falnas knew was the leader of Skyrim's Dark Brotherhood chapter, to demand a killing be done. He supposed one could still venture that the target was someone else than Mjoll, but they all knew this wasn't true. And now Arska did too.

She put down the letter and spoke to Falnas and Mruki. "Thanks for this. I owe you one, ashface."

"Please," Falnas merely said. "Letting us prove our innocence was thanks enough."

"Nu-uh. You were innocent, so letting you prove that is only common decency. No, if you ever need anything, don't hesitate. I've found the true culprit because of you, and that means a lot to me."

He held up his hands. "It was my pleasure. And I was acting out of self-interest for no small part. So what happens now?"

They were sitting in the Bee and Barb, after passing by the late Lioness' house for both Arska and Mruki to change. Arska had her terrifying dragonbone armour on again, and Mruki had been lent a pair of trousers and a tunic from Mjoll, as well as a pair of boots and a belt to cinch the tunic in at the waist since it was far too broad for her shoulders. The young servant was nursing a bowl of warm milk and honey, while Falnas had treated himself to a bottle of flin. Arska, predictably, had an untouched cup of mead in front of her. The place was virtually empty, it being the small hours, but no one argued it wasn't better that way.

"What happens now," Arska said, "is something you might not want to witness."

"You're going to… take the law into your own hands, aren't you?" Falnas asked.

She nodded. "Laws are nice, but they're man-made. Justice is a higher good, and I intend to deal it out." She looked at Mruki specifically. "I don't think you want to be there to see it when it happens." She thought for a moment, then said, "Or maybe you should come. To the market in, say… an hour? I may have a little surprise for you."

"Me?" the girl asked incredulously.

"Yes. You."

"M… market square in… in an hour?" the girl was still not entirely convinced that Arska wouldn't just chop her block off when the whim struck her.

"That's what I said, yes. And stop looking at me like I'm going to squash your head on the table. Nine, you look like you're about to be eaten by a Daedroth."

"What Arska means to say…" Falnas said, more gently, "is that you're safe with us. You have nothing to be afraid of anymore."

"It's… not easy to get used to," she said quietly, prompting an eye-roll from Arska. It was easy to be impatient with others if you were a damn demigod with little more to fear than a Daedra Prince coming down to trash you.

"Well stop worrying," Falnas said. "We'll finish our drinks, and by then it'll be time to go to the market."

Arska stood up, not even bothering to make the mead disappear this time. Falnas had to grin inwardly when he saw her adjusting the crotch of her armour. For all the unstoppable power, she was so damn human at times. "Well, I'm going to dispense some justice. You two take care, I'll see you in the market in an hour and after that… well, probably never again."

"Be careful, Arska, and… go easy on them. Not Maven, but the other people – "

"Whoever stands in my way, dies," she said, as flatly as if she'd been talking about the weather.

"But… the servants," Mruki dared to peep. "They're innocent, they – "

"Whoever stands in my way," the Dragonborn repeated, "Dies. End of story."

The girl knew better than to keep arguing and shut up. Falnas agreed that was probably best. With that, Arska gave them a nod and left.

"Don't worry," Falnas said. "She talks tough, but her heart's in the right place." He wondered if he wasn't trying to convince himself more than the servant girl. Damn it, he needed sleep. And hoped Karliah would still be tired enough when he got back, to allow him to curl up next to her and enjoy her warmth.

"I'm… not entirely at ease."

Falnas shook his head. He knew what she was going to say, and it wasn't a good idea. "Look, we can't go and stop her. She's a good woman, but we need to let her do this."

Things were silent for a few minutes, Mruki slurping from the warm milk she held in both hands, and Falnas closing his eyes and letting the flin swirl around in his mouth.

"I'm going."

Falnas opened his eyes, startled to see the girl put down her empty bowl and stand up. "You're what?"

"Going. To my mi… to Maven's house."

He dreaded the answer, but asked anyway. "… why?"

"To stop her. From killing the wrong people."

"Oh, Mruki," he said carefully. "That's not a good idea."

"I don't care. You two got me out of there, and I'm grateful, but there are people in there who are victims just like me, and if they try to stop her, you know, because they think they have to, she'll – "

"Yes, Mruki, she will. And she'll do the same to you if you – "

"I don't care," she said adamantly. "You're with the Guild, that means you know what loyalty is, right? Or at least you should."

"I do, I do, and I understand that you're – "

"Well," she cut him off. "This is my loyalty. Just like you people, we stuck together when we were all the way down at the bottom. I have to do this."

She really wouldn't be swayed. Well, the least he could do was go with her in case he had to protect her from her own good intentions. "Alright, alright, just… let me come with you, and promise me that if… well, that you'll be careful."

"I will, but I can't just sit here while – "

He spread his palms. "I understand. Let's go."

They speed-walked through the cobbled streets, an hour or two before dawn, their breaths coming in white puffs. At least the girl wasn't bare-footed anymore. Falnas dreaded what they were about to see as they rounded the corner to Maven's street.

What he saw was on the one hand terrible, and on the other slightly reassuring. But only slightly.

Two servants were on their knees in front of the wooden house, a bit roughed up but otherwise still not too much worse for wear. This couldn't be said for the two private guards slumped against the wall. The male was holding his arm, blood running between his fingers, while the female had both hands over her face, also dark red with blood. The blood pattern clearly said they'd been dragged out here. Falnas supposed that was a bit hopeful. Better dragged outside alive than killed inside stone dead. The servants had likely been kindly informed that trying to run would result in a very dolorous death, and they'd wisely stayed where they were.

The other thing he saw was a much less encouraging indicator of Arska's restraint. Next to the door, with no clothes or armour left on his body, lay Maul. The fingers of both hands had blood running between them, one of his hands over his eyes, the other between his legs.

By the Tribunal, Arska had made him pay for his brutality.

Then Falnas' eyes went up, and when he heard Mruki gasp next to her, he knew what it was about. The last of the servants hung half out the window, draped over the windowsill in his night clothes, his back to the street, and his face to the wall, buried in the guts that hung from his belly. He'd probably foolishly tried to get in the way.

The whine of a dog, quickly cut short, came from inside the house. Then another. So much for the hounds.

"She killed Tavin," Mruki peeped next to him. "He was… he wasn't a bad guy."

"I… don't think good or bad matters much to Arska right now, Mruki," Falnas could only say.

As they watched, Arska dragged out a screaming and kicking Maven Black-briar, still in her night gown.

"Do you know who I am?" Maven shrieked, clawing at the fist that held her gray-and-black hair tightly. "What I can bring down on you?"

"Empty threats," Arska only muttered before throwing her hard to the ground. The next moment, her blade flashed, the sharp edge slicing across the back of the middle-aged woman's ankles. "Stay."

Maven let out a squeal, and her attempt to scramble away immediately ended as her legs, their ankle tendons severed, could no longer support her and she went flat on her belly, her face again striking the cobblestones.

"Before I get rid of you, there's a few loose ends I've got to tie up." That said, Arska marched to the two guards, kicked them off the wall and lifted her blade, intent on bringing it down on the backs of their necks.

"Did they ever hurt you?" Falnas asked Mruki.

"No, I mean, they were a bit rough sometimes, but they never really harmed me. And they were too busy fondling each other to… well…"

"Right." Now that Falnas was here, he realized he couldn't stay on the sidelines. In the throes of her vengeance, Arska would murder two guards who were only doing their jobs, and probably right after, several servants who'd done even less wrong. "Arska. Arska, stop, please," he called out, marching to Maven's manor. He felt the patter of Mruki's feet following him.

"Falnas," she growled, lowering her head in threatening impatience. "I said I didn't want anyone to interfere."

"I know you did," he said, trying not to let the fear sound through in his voice and not quite succeeding. "But this isn't right, Arska. These people – "

"These people are accomplices to several murders, Falnas," she snarled. "Knowing accomplices. They deserve what's coming. The only one who gets to live is Maul here, blind and unmanned."

One of the guards began to whimper, but Arska's hand struck him across the face and he remained quiet. Meanwhile a couple of Riften guardsmen were watching from the other side of the street, unsure of what to do. The streets were mostly deserted at this hour, but the guards still sent the occasional loner out on patrol.

"So you're going to murder them all? Because they worked for a criminal? Come on."

"Falnas," she growled, pointing the tip of her sword at him, her face contorted in barely contained fury. "You've been a pal, but now is the time to back off!"

"No," a timid female voice came from beside him, "No, Arska." She was actually calling her by her first name. She was bolder than he thought. "You've got it wrong. The guards, they were just… doing their jobs. They were always good to us. And the servants… for Talos' sake, they're just like me."

"Your point?" the Dovahkiin grunted.

"My point is that I'm alive because I stumbled on you guys breaking in. If I hadn't, I would have been right there with the others, getting butchered. How am I different? I'm not! So why do you want to kill these people, who are the same as me, except they didn't get lucky?"

Arska stood there for a moment longer, her sword pointed at Falnas and Mruki, then finally lowered her weapon. Nice work, girl. "Fine," she spat. "These fools get to live."

Falnas saw Mruki briefly look up at the dead servant with tears standing in her eyes, but then she simply said, "Thank you, Arska."

"Now, you two," Arska threatened, "if you think you'll stop me from giving this old witch what she deserves," she scooped up a handful of Maven's hair and pulled the rest of her up with it, "then I'll run out of patience. And you don't want me to run out of patience."

Both Falnas and Mruki knew the only wise thing to do now was to let it be. "No," Falnas said, still thinking murder wasn't the solution, even against Maven, but keeping it to himself.

"Good," Arska merely snapped. "Come on, you old cunt."

She began dragging Maven through the streets, to the market, which slowly began to fill with merchants setting up their wares to have them ready at dawn.

Of course. She wanted an audience.

The two guards, in the meantime, ran off, to get reinforcements probably. Arska didn't seem to give a single damn.

"Come along you two. Something you should hear," the Dragonborn called after them as she dragged Maven off.

Right. Arska had an announcement to make in the market square. He wondered, and dreaded, what it might be. The woman was so unpredictable it could be anything.

They walked after her, trying to block out the whimpers, squeals, threats, promises and hate from Maven, to the market. People's heads turned immediately when they heard the noise, and pretty soon, the entire market was staring, open-mouthed, at Arska dragging Maven Black-briar to the centre.

"I'm not going to waste much of your time," she announced, holding down a struggling Maven without effort as Falnas and Mruki went to stand in the audience, even though both weren't so keen on seeing what was about to happen. "But I want to make it clear to everyone that this woman, Maven Black-briar, is responsible for several murders, including that of my best friend – "

"Lies!" Maven shouted, still clawing at Arska's hand holding her hair. "I never laid a hand on Mjoll, the Brotherhood – "

"Yes," Arska interrupted, sounding as if she was holding back terrible fury. "The Brotherhood, by your order. So you're responsible."

"I never – "

"Shut it," Arska snapped, letting go of Maven's hair long enough only to punch her in the back of the head, the gauntlet connecting with a hollow crack, then grabbing it again. She addressed the crowd. "Again, since the Jarl and the guard are too inept or corrupt to bring this witch to justice, it falls to me." She grinned and brought her face closer to Maven's. "Probably, now, to her dismay."

"Arska Gvalhir," an imperious yet unsteady female voice interrupted the spectacle. On the bridge leading to the market stood the Jarl, Laila Law-giver, and a retinue of guards. Her arms were crossed, which already hinted at her uneasiness even if her demeanour did not. "You will cease this spectacle immediately and turn over the citizen you are unlawfully detaining, as well as any evidence you claim to have, to me." Her flaming red hair played in the breeze, but the rest of her clearly couldn't conjure as much fire. "She will be tried for her crimes." The Jarl had to swallow before adding, "As will you."

Arska's answer was a short, flat, and completely unassailable, "No."

Even though the Jarl had probably expected that answer, she still flinched, barely visibly, but persisted, "If… if you do not comply, I will arrest you by force."

Arska only let out a raw laugh, still holding the struggling Maven by the hair as the citizens in the market looked on, their jaws slack.

"Stupid of the Jarl to intervene," Falnas muttered to Mruki. "Either her guards will refuse her order, or they'll get their asses royally kicked. So old Laila will either look tragically impotent, or not in control of her soldiers."

"Mm."

"Last warning," Laila Law-giver flung at Arska, her voice now actually trembling with nerves. "Step away from your hostage or – "

"I'm not interested in your mewling," Arska simply said. "If your soldiers want to stay alive, they'll stay away from me."

"Enough. You've gone too far this time, Dovahkiin. Guards, arrest this woman."

Falnas hoped the soldiers would have enough common sense not to follow that order. They were more than capable fighters, most of them, but this woman's powers were borderline godly. He'd tangled with most of the guards in the past, but even though they could be hard-nosed, or corrupt, they were still people and didn't deserve to die, and certainly not to protect Maven.

Most of the guards only gripped their weapons more tightly, but only a few advanced, and then only by a few steps.

"Have my soldiers become old fish wives?" the Jarl shouted, her voice breaking with nerves. "Secure that woman, do it now!"

With shuffling steps, the six soldiers proceeded towards Arska. Slowly, as if some terrible force was holding them back… and Falnas figured that was probably the case.

"Come on then, you lot!" Arska shouted, her sword pointed at the guards. She seemed to like doing that. "For whom the first deathblow?"

She was absolutely terrifying, and the guards felt the same, stopping and looking at each other through the eyeholes in their helmets. They gripped their swords and spears as if they were the only things keeping them alive. Falnas knew those weapons would never save them.

"I'm… not dying over this," one of the female guards told the others.

"Me neither," a male said quietly.

Another soldier lowered his weapon and stepped back. "Forgive us, Jarl, but we're not paid nearly enough to commit suicide. If you want to arrest this woman, you'll do it yourself."

"Maven's had it coming for a long time anyway," the female guard added.

"You cowards," Laila Law-giver shrieked. "Shame on all of you."

As she left with her soldiers, who backed away, still gripping their weapons with shaking hands, she shouted at Arska, "This isn't over! I'll be back to get you!"

Arska only shrugged and muttered, "Anytime, firecrotch." Dragging Maven forward, she proceeded to a bootblack's stand, telling the owner, "I need this for a moment."

The terrified shoe shiner left his stand faster than the eye could see, Arska dragging Maven towards the knee-high stool people the customers put their boots on, leaving a trail of blood from her severed tendons.

Maven had stopped screaming now, seemingly resigned to her fate. She knew as well as everyone else that the Jarl was her last hope of rescue. And now nothing stood between her and Arska. And both he and Mruki knew there was no talking her down this time.

Arska roughly shoved the woman face-first onto the stool, so her chest and face lay on it. Falnas could guess what she was planning. The crowd, meanwhile, had grown to a sizeable throng behind Falnas' back.

"Repeat after me."

Maven remained quiet, the side of her face pressed against the bootblack's stool, Arska's boot on her cheek.

"Or don't," Arska said with a shrug. Again, to the crowd, "Let me just recite Maven's last will and testament."

The woman's face didn't change when she heard Arska say it, but Falnas knew this was the confirmation of what was about to happen.

"Every septim I own," Arska announced loudly in Maven's place, "will be donated to the city of Riften. One third will be used to hire additional guardsmen to secure the city," not very good news for Falnas and his bunch, but alright. "One third will be bequeathed unto the Jarl for embellishing the city, including a memorial to Mjoll the Lioness." Yes, that was more to Falnas' liking.

Maven's face however, kept down on the stool by Arska's boot, contorted in anger.

"The last third will be bestowed upon the Orphanage of Riften." Arska's eyes went to Mruki, "And my former servant, to be rewarded for her good care, will be appointed as its administrator."

Falnas looked at Mruki and saw her jaw drop.

"Make it a better place than it used to be," Arska said to her, genuine warmth in her voice.

"I… I will."

"With that out of the way," Arska announced to the crowd, back to her tough-as-nails self. "For her crimes, her murder of my friend Mjoll, and countless other destroyed lives, Maven Black-briar, you will now pay."

Without another word, Arska took her boot off Maven's face, and with a quick, two-handed swing, brought down her blade on the woman's neck. There was a sickening wet crunch as the powerful, preternaturally sharp blade went through the vertebrae in Maven's neck, and the next moment, the woman's head thudded hard onto the cobblestones, making a few lazy rolls, the eyes rolled back and her tongue flopping in her open mouth like a dying fish.

Not to miss the chance of additional spectacle, Arska snatched up the head by its now-short hair and held it up to the crowd. The body, meanwhile, slid off the stool and flopped onto the ground, her dying heart spurting blood from the severed neck. Falnas immediately wished he hadn't seen the brown stain spreading on the seat of Maven's dress. Or the utterly slack expression on the dead face. No living person could ever imitate the slackness of a dead face, and it was horrible.

"This is what your Jarl can't do," Arska called to the crowd, "but what had to be done. And now, she ends in the same place she has sent her victims to."

Before Falnas could wonder what she meant, the question was answered for him as Arska flung the woman's severed head over the railing at the market's edge, sending it into the canal with a loud splash.

"You alright?" he asked Mruki. He felt a bit queasy at the sight himself. He'd seen people die before, but never as brutally and cruelly as this. He only liked Arska as long as she was among friends, not this side of her.

"I'm… I'm fine," Mruki stammered, holding a hand in front of her mouth.

"I'm done," Arska said flatly to the crowd, leaving the headless body where it lay, for someone else to clean up. "Thank you for the attention, be sure to transmit Maven's dying wishes to the Jarl, and enjoy the rest of your day." She tossed the bootblack a small purse of septims. For the clean-up, how eerily cynical of her.

"You two take care of yourselves," she said to Falnas and Mruki with a nudge of her head. "I've had enough of this sewer of a city."

Hoarsely, Falnas could only say, "Alright… goodbye, Arska." He'd had enough of her for a while too.

Mruki only feebly lifted her hand and let it fall to her side again.

"So long," the Dovahkiin said, turning and walking off the market, and out of their lives.