Diamond tips off the carriage driver as she arrives at the Markarth Stables, just outside the city. The owner brushes a black horse while a dog barks and nibbles on the antler of a deer.
Tugging at her cloak, Diamond flicks the hood to make sure that it conceals her cowl and armor of the Brotherhood. She adjusts her mask so that it's shadowed under her hood.
It was around ten o'clock in the evening when Diamond left the Sanctuary, now, the sun has risen; casting a golden curtain of light that glimmers the stones and halos the large golden gate doors. Judging from its position, it was noon. Diamond wraps her cloak around herself; fisting it in her hands as she passes the two guards posted at the gate.
"Halt outsider!"
Diamond bites her tongue and slips her hand to her dagger. She forces herself to give a look of confusion and panic as to appear innocent.
"Yes?" she cleverly makes her voice shake; mimicking that of a young girl, afraid that she's gotten into trouble. The guard approaches.
"You're clearly new here, so I'll give you a forewarning. Markarth doesn't take kindly to outsiders; what with the Forsworn out in the Reach." He says. "Cause any trouble, and I'll haul you down to Cidhna Mine myself."
Cidhna Mine is a prison in Markarth. It is run by the Silver-Blood Family who use prisoners to mine the silver ore inside. It is also home to Madanach, the King in Rags and leader of the Forsworn Rebellion. It is commonly referred to as the most secure prison in Skyrim
Diamond nods and gives a weary smile before pushing open the gates. As she walks through, she carries a smug smile on her face.
Take that Libby she thinks.
Stories tell that Markarth was built entirely out of stone and by elves; though that was merely rumors. As Diamond enters, those stories of the city of stone rein true. Her mouth agapes in awe.
The stone buildings tower around her and down the hill is a smelter work. Right as she walks in, there's a small stand that sells bloody meat, another selling jewelry. The city is split by a large running river and comprises two parts: Riverside, where the native reachmen and the working district are found; and the Dryside, housing all the houses of Nord nobles and Silver-Blood ownership. The Jarl's palace, Understone Keep, is located at the top of the city and contains the Hall of the Dead, the Dwemer Museum, and the Nchuand-Zel Excavation Site where the internal part of the old Dwemer city remains in ruins.
Most of the city's residents tend to be quite unfriendly to outsiders.
As Diamond fully steps through the gates, she watches as a man who was at the meat stand draw a dagger. He approaches a woman talking at the jewelry stand.
"Hey!" Diamond shouts. Her hand slipped into her belt, where dozens of slender daggers were clipped tight, designed more for throwing than for wielding in melee. She throws her dagger and it embeds in his thigh. He screams and the townspeople scatter, screaming. The shadows might not be a second skin to her, and silence only a loose friend unlike Libby, but when it comes to throwing the blade, she knew of no one better.
"For the Forsworn!" the man screams.
He charges forward, faster than Dia thought with the dagger in his leg.
"By the gods! The Forsworn are here in the city!" someone cries.
The man is still weak, which made it easier for Diamond to swerve out of the way. She grabs his opposite arm and spins him to his back is to her and keeps her arm around his neck. She drives the blade through his chest. She waits after he gurgles blood and he slumps does she pry her dagger loose.
The guards suddenly swarm, and she briefly braces herself for them to grab her arms, but they only usher her back and surround the body. "We'll take it from here, move along." He says.
"What was that about?" Diamond asks. "That man shouted something about the "Fosworn."
"I said move along. The Forsworn are just a bunch of madmen." He says.
"Stand back, the Markarth city guard have this all under control!" The second guard says. He stands in her way so she can't get closer.
"I just saved a woman's life and you're going to -!" Diamond stops herself, and exhales deeply. "You know what, fine. Fine!" she snaps. She makes sure to glare at the guards as she walks away. She manages to loots hi body for five gold and three lockpicks. Diamond spots the woman the man was attacking and approaches her.
Another woman says, "He, he tried to kill Margret. Right in front of me."
The woman notices her. "By the gods, that man nearly killed me. You saved my life. Thank you."
"No problem. Margret, is it?" Diamond asks.
"Yes."
"Why was that man after you?"
"I, I don't know. I just came out here to buy my sister back in Cyrodiil a necklace." Margret says. "Here, I was going to bring this to my sister, but I think you should have it."
Margret hands Diamond two silver rings and an amethyst necklace. Diamond was hoping for gold, but she doesn't say much. Instead she smiles and asks Margret if she's okay.
"I'll be fine, but I think I'll stay inside for a while." Margret crosses her arms as a form of self-embrace to calm herself. "Thank you again."
Diamond smiles. "Not a problem."
Now, I have a job to do.
Diamond begins navigates her way around the city. She asks a city guard where the Hag's Cure is, and points her to a hidden doorway located within the southern part of Markarth near the Markarth Ruins, and Cidhna Mine. It was up a steep staircase, and it was near the chasm of water where a fall starts, spraying mist atop the shop.
Diamond climbs after it, the fingers of her hand sliding along the stone wall. Her eyes focused on the shop. After another short, silent spurt of stairs, she reached the second floor landing, which gave way to a bird's eye view of the smelter workers. She traipsed higher yet. She reaches yet another tiny landing. She rounds one final corner. With an internal groan, she saw that here, the next staircase, set slightly apart, seemed to slant more steeply and grow even more narrow, the individual steps themselves somehow thicker and taller. This staircase reached up toward a single narrow door. The burn in her thighs intensifies as she climbs again.
Reaching the top of the stairs, she leans against the wall and heaves through her mouth. "This pay had better be worth it." She hisses through breaths. She pushes the door inward and enters the shop.
Down back in the marketplace, the gates open again. In steps Libby with her own cloak wrapped closely to her body. She steps in and sees the gathering of guards and a small crowd of citizens gathered. She weaves her way through up front where she finds the body of a man.
"Gods . . . what happened?" she asks.
"This man tried to attack a woman in the market." A guard responds.
"In broad daylight? What is he stupid?"
"No, just a pawn of the Forsworn. Which are a group of madmen, arguably." The guard says.
"Glad you stopped him." Libby smiles.
"Actually, it wasn't us. Some kind-hearted citizen managed to stop the man before he could murder the woman."
"Oh, who?" Libby make sure to bat her eyes, to show a sense of intrigue.
"Some outsider. Go figure. Had a belt of daggers on her. Flung them rather professionally. Never seen such lethal throws. Always on target." The guard describes.
Libby goes rigid and a pinch of confusion mixes with shock. "Do, do you remember what she was wearing?"
"I couldn't tell much. Just a black cloak. And the belt of daggers." The guard says.
"Huh." Diamond? Saved a bystander?
"I'm afraid you'll have to stand back, ma'am. Official guard business." The guard says.
"Oh, right. Sorry." Libby says. The guard nods as Libby steps back, but into another approaching guard. "Oh, sorry."
"Favor the bow eh? I'm a sword man myself. If you want more weapons, you should go see Ghorza gra-Bagol. The Orc up at the forge."
"Oh, did you see where that cloaked woman went? The one who saved that woman?" Libby asks.
"I believe she was asking around for the Hag's Cure." The guard replies.
"Thank you." Libby says and turns away.
A contract. Of course. Diamond would never come here on her own free will. Well she would, but she would bring Libby along. Libby can't get involved with her business, and given Diamond did come here, no doubt her dark mistress Astrid assigned it. So Libby decides to head into the Silver-Blood Inn and wait it out. Diamond was bound to come here after her contract. So Libby heads on in.
"Come in, come!" the owner greets. A Nord citizen named Klepper. "The Silver-Blood Inn has plenty of strong drink and clean rooms."
While Libby isn't the gossipy kind of person, picking up rumors could lead to potential missions and information worth feeding to the Guild. And despite Brynjolf saying she should stop that habit, Diamond is busy, so there's really no harm. Libby sits at the bar. Then Klepper calls to his wife, Frabbi, rather insultingly to attend to her. Frabbi bickers back and Libby's a little intimidated as she approaches.
"Unlike my husband Kleppr, I watch after our guests." She says. "I'm Frabbi."
"I heard." Libby smiles. "So, what's the word around town?"
The entrance of the Hag's Cure leads Diamond into a narrow hallway before down a few steps into the shop's main chamber. She spots the main proprietor behind the desk as usual, and a woman at the alchemy lab.
Jackpot.
Diamond makes her way down the steps, gives the woman behind the counter a smile and nod. She pretends to occupy herself by browsing the shelving, until Muiri leaves the lab and enters a small bed chamber with three beds in a semicircle against the wall.
As she sits on the bed for a drink, Dia approaches and cocks her head.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asks nervously.
Dia leans in and whispers. "The Dark Brotherhood has come, Muiri."
"The Dark Brotherh . . . Oh. Oh! I . . . my goodness, you're really here! The Black Sacrament. It actually worked?" she stutters, rather excitedly.
"Obviously. Now tell me what you need." Diamond demands. It feels so good to finally be herself.
"What I need?" Muiri seethes. "What I need is for Alain Dufont to die! I want him hunted down and murdered like the dog he is!"
Dia has to shush her because her voice was rising. Muiri's voice shakes, but Diamond know that it's not from tears, but from anger that mutates from the hurt and sadness.
"By Sithis, I need details. Get to the point." Dia snaps her fingers.
"I didn't know it when we were . . . with each other . . . but Alain is actually the leader of a band of cutthroats. Bandits. They were holed up in some old dwarven ruin – Raldbthar. It's near Windhelm. They used it as their base. It's where they staged their raids."
"You said were." Diamond reminds.
"I've heard they recently set up hold here, in Markarth. At the Silver-Blood Inn. I want you to go there and kill him. He's alone, so I don't care how you do it. Publically or when he's sleeping, he just has to die!" Muiri exclaims.
"It will be done." Dia promises.
"Excellent. Once Alain is dead, I'll pay you. In gold. I saved up a bit. I hope that'll do. But, well . . . There is one more thing. If you're interested?"
"I'm listening."
"If you can . . . I want you to kill someone else, as well. You don't have to – not as part of our deal. But if you do . . . I'll pay you even more." Muiri persuades. "It's Nilsine Shatter-Shield, in Windhelm. If Nilsine dies, too . . . I'll make it worth your while."
Diamond nods. "Is there anything else?"
"I planned to kill Alain myself, you know. Nilsine, too. But lost my nerve. I even brewed a special poison, Lotus Extract. Maybe, you could use it?" Muiri says.
She hands Diamond a square gold-colored vial with a tag tied to its neck.
"Just coat your weapon with it. Then . . . you get the idea. Make them all pay for what they've done to me."
Dia nods and turns to leave the apothecary shop. She goes over the options in her head and decides it would be better to travel to Windhelm and exterminate Nilsine. The journey will take at least a day. But with the time zone difference, and hopefully if Alain doesn't decide to go anywhere, she can make it back by nightfall and slaughter him too.
From what Muiri told Diamond, at some point, he heard about the murder of Friga Shatter-Shield and headed to Windhelm, hoping to swindle money from Friga's relatives. At the Candlehearth Hall in Windhelm, he met Muiri. Wanting to exploit Muiri's connections to the Shatter-Shield family, he romanced her. He robbed the Shatter-Shields, who blamed the event on Muiri. After the deed was done, Alain left her and went into hiding in the Dwemer ruins of Raldbthar.
She would now be going to another major hold without Libby. But the fact that she's there strictly on business and not to sight-see, is all the motivation Diamond needs.
"Off to Windhelm." She speaks. Then heads for the gates.
Meanwhile, at the Silver-Blood Inn, Libby has rented a room for the day. With the bed being made of stone, and broad daylight out, she wandered around the town, familiarizing herself with any residential homes as well as the guards' schedule. She completed the jobs Vex and Delvin assigned her, and was now left with nothing to do while she waits for Diamond.
She now sits around the fire with a lute she picked up from another room. No one seemed to mind, and after a little tuning, she plays the song "Tale of Tongues." With the aid of the bard that works there, they sang the song with such harmonies and layers that it motivated the guests to raise a toast and order more rounds of mead. As the debauchery begins to settle in, Libby sets aside the lute and retreats into her room; shutting the door.
As she unbraids her hair and strips out of her rope when she hears footsteps behind her. There's a knock on her door, and it opens the next second. Libby whirls around, closing her robe tight, and snatching her dagger. She raises it and points it ahead. A man raises his hands, palms up.
"Easy, easy." He says.
Libby sighs and plops the dagger on her stand.
"You play well." He says.
"I learned from a friend." Libby says plainly. She sits at her desk in her room and pulls out her journal she keeps with her.
"Ah. So you have any other talents?" the man asks.
Libby pauses her writing and looks to the man as he enters her room and sits on her bed.
"Did I say you could come in?" she snaps.
The man only shrugs his shoulders. Libby stares at him, examining him. He doesn't seem to notice, instead, he only winks and smiles. Libby rolls her eyes and gathers her journal then heads back out to the fire. She sits in a chair, brings her knees to her chest and starts to write again. A minute later, she hears another chair drag against the stone floor, a high-pitched squeal of distress. The man sits next to her again.
Libby doesn't even look to him. "Something you need, or are you just trying to annoy me?"
"Can't a man make conversation with an attractive young woman?" he smiles.
"Keep the word, young in mind." Libby snaps, keeping her gaze on her writing.
"You sure have a spirit in you." The man says. Then Libby nearly flinches when she sees fingers curl around the top of her journal and bring it down. The man stands I front of her, a predatory gleam in his eyes. "I like that."
"Then find it in someone else." Libby snarls, but a small smile creeps on her lips.
"How about I get you a drink?" the man winks.
"If it'll get you to leave me alone, fine." Libby submits. The man smiles and pats the arm of Libby's chair. He orders two mead drinks, and as Klepper serves them, Libby asks. "What's your name?"
The man looks to her and grins. He leans settles in the chair next to her and raises his glass. "Alain Dufont."
Windhelm is a city located in northeastern region of Skyrim. The city is an imposing sight with its massive ice-covered stone walls. It also has a port that one can access through the city. The city has very cold weather being in the icy north of Skyrim, however travelers heading toward the Rift or Whiterun will see the landscape turn green and lush almost immediately south of the city limits. Travelers to the city are greeted by the frozen bridge leading to the main gate, but it is the Palace of the Kings towering over all other structures in the city, that truly takes the breath away.
Diamond rubs her arms in attempt to warmth. It was now six in the afternoon and still the snow falls in clusters. She looks up, and stares at the countless specks that rained down around her, each white flake highlighted against the black backdrop of night, like a thousand falling stares in a dead sky.
The streets have high thick walls around them and are packed with snow, giving the city something of a claustrophobic feel; the sky is white or overcast, and fierce blizzards batter the city with alarming regularity. It is within these snow-strewn streets and icy alleys that Windhelm's inhabitants live, usually with an overriding sense of tension.
When Ulfric Stormcloak became Jarl, he separated the Dunmer and Argonian immigrants from the native Nord population This may have been to stop the Dunmer and Argonians from fighting each other, as in recent years there has been much conflict and hatred between the two peoples, or it may be a simple immigration cap due to the Stormcloaks fear of suspected Imperial spies.
Diamond navigates her way to the right where she finds the local marketplace. Stands of weaponry, food and meat are all lined up, and behind the meat stand was the apothecary shop. Diamond continues through and finds herself at the cemetery where a priestess commends the souls of the dead. Diamond growls as she takes an uphill path and finds the living quarters of the wealthier citizens. Just around a few corners was the Palace of the Kings. She spots a young woman carrying a flower basket. In Muiri's description, she matches Nilsine.
Diamond smiles and peruses. She flicks her cowl up and conceals the lower-half of her face. She is within range as Nilsine turns around. "What? Oh . . . did you need something?"
Diamond grimaces. "Did you hear that? It's the sound of your sister . . . screaming in the Void . . ."
Before Nilsine could utter a word of fear, a wickedly sharp point pierces the side of her neck and ruptures her windpipe. She collapses, unable to cry out to others. A great cry rose up around Diamond.
She turns and sprints. Diamond dances between the two men, her dagger a blur of steel. Both men are bleeding, and one in particular was soaked with blood from a gash underneath his arm. Diamond ducks a sideways slash, spins on her heels, and then lunges to the side of a thrust. The sword pierces the air inches from Diamond's face, but she seems to not care how close she comes to death. Her dagger punches underneath the breastplate, slicing open the flesh and spilling intestines to the cold stone of the road.
Diamond blows the wounded soldiers a kiss, then using a gust of wind and snow to her advantage, she steps back into the flurry, and disappears.
Wiping her blade off in the snow, Diamond tries to clean herself up as best she can with the available snow a she needs to catch the carriage back to Markarth. She cups the white powder in her hands and smothers her face. She tries to ignore the nipping pain of the cold as she smears and wipes her cheeks, hands, and her dagger. Though blood on weapons isn't exactly a rare sight in Skyrim.
She pays the driver upfront and only says, "To Markarth." Before she collapses in the wagon. She feels it lurch forward, and the horse huffs and neighs.
"You know what's weird to me?" she asks, and she sees the driver's head cock in attention. "When animals sigh. I mean really, what do they have to complain about?"
The driver laughs, and he replies, but Diamond barely catches it over the ringing in her ears. Her heart slows and she tries to even her breathing. She wraps her cloak around her tightly and curls into herself as the cold chill seeps through the fabric and seizes her skin with icy fingers. Thankfully as her adrenaline settles, her body warms and she dozes off on the ride back to Markarth.
The night has completely overtaken the sky when Diamond steps into Markarth once again. The entire town was dark apart from torches and small fires burning inside black iron brackets. Guards walk around with torches as they patrol the city at night. They merely greet her with a nod of acknowledgment.
Diamond heads straight for the Silver-Blood Inn, shoving open the doors. The chill of Windhelm still seems to have seize her cheeks as they grow warm upon entering the inn.
"Come in, come in." the bartender says.
Diamond walks around the bar and immediately heads for the fire where she kneels down and warms her hands. Rubbing them together, she overhears a man talking. Looking over her shoulder, she finds it is Alain. Her heart triples in speed, but keeps her masterly trained poker face.
"Yeah, and so this guy keeps talking about dragons, and I'm trying to get this girl drunk. He wouldn't shut up, so I tell him to quiet down. Little did I know, he had one too many drinks of mead. He picks a fight with me, and Klepper throws him out. I turn around, the girl is gone."
"Oh, where'd she go?" the man listening asks.
"I checked her room, but it was empty. And I looked around," Alain paraphrases. "and nothing. She's a clever girl."
"Who is she?" Another man asks. This one holding a broom. Probably house-keeping of the inn.
"Don't know her name. She was even clever enough not to tell me it. But she was a beauty. Even for a nineteen year old."
Diamond freezes and jerks her head to Alain's direction. She has the urge to talk to him, confront him, but it goes against her deal with Muiri. So she listens in, closer.
"Long black hair, kept it in a braid. Hazel eyes. Beautiful body with the ferocity of a Sabre cat." he chuckles. "Oh I swear when I find that precious creature, I am going to conquer her like any true Nord conquers any fierce beast."
The men all laugh and cheer, and Diamond feels her cheeks warm with rage. She snatches her dagger, the blood dry, and approaches Alain. Without sparing a word, she slices his throat and splatters blood across the floor. Other guests scream and flee as Diamond sheathes her knife and bolts for the door.
She shoves through to find three guards already beginning to surround the place. Diamond checks the daggers at her belt. She only had three left. There would be no whittling them down before they reach her, and she knows veteran killers are underneath that armor.
Twirling one of her few daggers in her fingers, she observes her strategy. One good throw, and she could make it four to one. Her speed is good, so he might blind or wound another. She chooses to throw her extra dagger. Diamond's heart pounds in her ears, she angles towards them. She cut one across the eyes as he swipes his sword at her head. Another screams and falls back, blood pouring out from underneath his arm.
Better than expected, Diamond thinks as she tries to twirl away. A hand latches onto her long sandy hair. Now it's her time to scream as she feels her scalp tug painfully, her momentum too great for her to stop. The guard swears and tosses a handful of hair to the ground.
Diamond twists and wrenches away. She draws her sword and swipes at the air so that the guards would clear a path in the attempt to dodge. Voices shout after her as she mounts the stone steps, skipping some if she needed to. Two chased after her, slashing the air before her chest and waist with their swords. She hurls a dagger between the two guards chasing her. End over end it twirls, and when it stuck true, Diamond let out an excited cry.
She runs up the steps to the bridge, she can't advance any further as they guard tower is right above her. Diamond weaves and slips dodging arrows as guards above aim downward. She hops up on the side of the bridge. She looks behind her and gulps as she's more than thirty feet off the ground.
"Give up now!" one guard says.
Diamond looks to them and snarls. She keeps her sword out swiping and yelling to get back. She looks once again at the sight.
I can do this.
She quickly sheaths her sword, turns and jumps.
Libby now wanders back with her pockets lined with the valuables of a home she stole from and also a few trinkets of the Treasury Home. "Now where the heck is Diamond." She mumbles to herself.
Libby checks the sky and reads it as half past eleven.
"She should've been back by now." Libby holds out her arms motioning to nothingness, when suddenly something drops in her arms unexpectedly. It was fairly heavy that Libby was surprised she didn't drop it. Her hands naturally get a better grip.
She looks and watches as the hood falls back, revealing Diamond's red tinted face.
"Diamond?"
"Libby?!" Diamond exclaims. "What- what are you doing, here?" Diamond looks round.
"I'm on a job, and I came looking for you. What are you doing here?" Libby asks.
"Running from guards."
"What?!" Libby instantly drops her to the ground.
"Ow! Aw, I think I landed on my dagger."
"What do you mean, running from guards?" Libby asks.
"Well, uh, I got hired, I got caught, and now it is quickly becoming apparent I have a problem. Okay more than one problem." Dia explains.
Libby groans and pinches the bridge of her nose.
"Look, Libby, I know we fought, but I need your help please!"
"What else is new?" Libby says. "Okay, just stay here, and follow me lead."
"Okay." Dia says. Then Libby suddenly runs away from her and into the shadows. "What the hell kind of lead is that?!" Dia yells.
Suddenly the guards come and surround her. "Ha! Found you!"
"Yes, because I was trying to hide." Diamond snaps. She raises her arms, in defeat.
Suddenly, the marketplace darkens. One of the torches outside the inn is blown out. Shadows dance around them, not cast from the remaining torchlight.
"What was that?" One guard asks.
Dia listens as they all hear whispers in their ears, but every time the guards would turn there was no one there. The words kept changing, their minds unable to lock down a meaning. The draw their swords.
"Tell me, why you insist on arresting one my colleagues?" the voice asks, only this time this one seems to come from their feet.
"She has committed crimes against Skyrim and her people. What say you in her defense?" he says.
"It's all she's ever known. It's a natural talent." says Libby, as Diamond now recognizes her.
Wisps of shadows floats off her like smoke. Her cloak pools on the floor as if it was liquid darkness, yet when she steps back, it immediately snaps erect and wraps about her sides.
"We, are the children of Sithis." says Libby. "We are their most fervent, their most faithful, for we have much to atone for."
"Please, please, don't sent us to the Void." One guard begs.
Dia peers over the shoulder of the guard in front of her. The shadows swarm together, grow in volume and mass, and then finally fill with color, becoming a Libby shrouded in black.
"There is warmth in the Void." Diamond says. "Would you like us to send you there?"
Only the serrated dagger shone bright and true in Libby's hand.
There's the sound of a scuffle coupled with pained screams that are cut off halfway through. The torch flares back on, and several bodies lie in a bloody puddle. The guard in front of Diamond hasn't moved, and then a dagger presses against his neck.
"You're next." Libby hisses.
"No, no please." The guard begs. The panic in his voice obvious. Dia smiles as his bravado weak against the serrated dagger pressed against his soft skin. The dagger scrapes against his neck. "I'll, I'll let you go. The bounty will be cleared, everything!"
Dia nods and the dagger leaves his neck. A hand stretches out to Dia, and she takes with firm fingers. A painful lurch later, they sprint through the gates and into the night. The stars were hidden behind clouds, and in the dim light, Dia stumbled as she ran. Only the strong grip on her wrist kept her moving.
"You right behind me?" Libby says.
"Yeah."
They pass Markarth Stables and cross the bridge before the stop. They breathe heavily and slump to the ground.
"What a way to kick-start a night, huh?" Dia jokes.
"Well, you lasted longer than I thought." Libby admits.
The girls look to one another and smile. Through their breathing they manage to laugh.
"So um, how about we head back to Riften?" Libby suggests.
"Sure." Dia agrees. "But I need to get my coin first."
Dia laughs as she hears Libby swear.