"And . . . and then she gets like pissed at me and goes: "You follow my orders. I will not be overruled by a dead corpse!" Diamond impersonates. Libby nods, following along.
Diamond had stammered into the Cistern a wreck. She was on the near verge of crying when she crashed into Libby. Now after hearing the story of how she was forced to hide in a coffin with a dead corpse, Libby now understands that the crying was from being overwhelmed, rather than scared. Diamond's tough. She doesn't scare easily.
"All because she was paranoid!" Diamond finishes. She slams her palms on the table out of fury, rattling the plate of food and Libby's mug.
After escorting Diamond out of the Cistern, they entered the Flaggon and Libby had them sit at the table at the very front of the Flaggon; near Tonilia's usual setup. Libby had ordered Diamond some Black-Brier Mead and added a spoonful of honey to make it taste sweeter. Dia doesn't drink much, so she didn't finish it.
Libby glares at Diamond. "I can't believe she made you do that. And not have like, the slightest bit of genuine concern for you."
"No, no, she did." Diamond defends. "She was concerned that her information was lost!" she suddenly retorts.
"So, it was, in your head?" Libby asks.
"Yes! It was the freakiest think I've ever experienced. And then, ew, Cicero starts dancing like a freaking dumbass and starts to cheer about me being the Listener." Libby giggles as Dia describes Cicero's dancing. "And then Astrid like, dismisses me, being all: Go do this for Nazir while I go over what just happened to you. I'll just let you deal with it yourself!"
"She said that?"
"No, but it was implied." Dia takes another swing of her drink. "I mean, I've done stuff for her in the past, but that was just, wrong."
"Wow."
There's a moment of silence while the other member walk around the Flaggon. "So, are you, okay?" Libby asks.
"I'm not, okay, but I feel better. No one in the Brotherhood would ever care." Dia snarls.
"Well, maybe they would. I mean it sounds like an honor to be the Listener. Sounds like Astrid was intimidated by you."
"What's so special about having that dead corpse inside my head?!" Diamond denies. "I mean, I get it. She's sacred, she's special. But I just . . . I felt so, violated. And I know that sounds weird and wrong, but I -!"
Libby grasps Dia's shoulder and pulls her head into her shoulder. "It's okay." Libby coos. She pets Dia's head gently, caressing her hair. Dia sniffs and wipes her cheeks with the heel of her hand. "It's okay. I'm sorry you feel like no one cares."
Diamond only shakes her head. "It's not that, it's more like . . . like they seem to care more about information than the actual members. I mean I know that seems to be expected from an assassination group, but; I don't know, I just expected it to be different. Does that make sense?"
"Yeah." Libby says. Diamond had heard that a thousand times. But looking at Libby, seeing her stern and intent, Diamond knew without a doubt that she believed Libby. "I mean, I kind of feel jealous of you. You seem to sound like something special and gifted. I mean next to the Dragonborn, this sounds pretty important."
"Great, a lot more pressure and weight on my shoulders." Diamond belittles. "Now I have more responsibility and Astrid intimidated. That can't be good in the long-run."
"I don't have any easy answers, but I do know this. You can always come to me, or the Guild. You're always more than welcome." Libby assures.
She clutches her mug. "It's just, I've never had any real friends; and I guess, a part of me was hoping that the Brotherhood would be different, but it all seems, played."
"Hey, you've got me. You'll never lose me."
Diamond turns to her, and somewhere in the haze of anger they wrap their arms around each other. Their friendship has held up under an incredible weight, the weight of Libby losing her parents, the weight of so many loses. Other bonds would have broken. For some reason, this one hasn't.
They stay clutched together for a long time, until the desperation fades.
"Thanks," Diamond says. "You won't lose me, either."
"I'm pretty sure if I was going to, I would have already." Libby smiles. "Listen, I hate to do this, but I need to leave soon."
Diamond groans. "Where are you going?!"
"I'm off to meet Maven Black-Brier."
Diamond's eyes widen and Libby nods as she adjusts her braid. "I know."
"Are you going to come back?" Diamond asks, and it worries since she can't decide if it's just to tease her, or a serious question.
"Brynjolf says so."
"Can I . . . tag along?"
"Diamond . . ."
"Come on! I want to see this badass bitch for myself. See if she's just as impressive." Diamond persuades.
"Diamond, you heard Mercer. We can't be seen in public together." Libby reminds.
"Ugh, come on. He'll never know."
"Mercer always knows. And I don't want him to find out and know I gave in." Libby says. "Besides, this is Maven and she asked only for me. If I so much as bring another person, she'll probably kill our deal."
"Even if it's a member of the Brotherhood?"
"I don't know, but I don't want to take any chances." says Libby. She adjusts her hood and tucks her braid inside. "And besides, it's said she has an overinflated ego, and I'm afraid you'll slice her throat at the slightest snotty comment."
"Eh, good point. But what am I supposed to do while you're gone?" Diamond asks.
"You're more than welcome than to hang around the Cistern, just don't break anything. And, I'm pretty sure Cynric's in there." Libby smiles.
"No! Shut up!" Diamond squeals as she covers her face. Her cheeks grow warm and she lets a giggle escape.
"Just hang out in there until I get back. You can hang with Rune, Thrynn, Etienne. Vipir can give you pickpocket training, and Delvin sneak."
"You saying I need sneak training?" Dia snipes.
"Remember when we first met?" Libby says.
"Yes."
"You're still not better."
Diamond goes to slap Libby, but she dodges at the last second and Dia nearly stumbles into Tonilia. Libby catches her and help her regain balance.
"I'm sure you'll be fine." Libby says. "I'll see you when I get back."
"I'll just follow you since I'll be spending time in the Cistern." Diamond says.
Diamond follows Libby through to the Cistern and up to the ladder that leads up to the mausoleum above. When her feet are the last to go aboveground, Diamond turns and was about to head to the training room like Libby said, but she bumped into a hard-muscled body. Strong fingers reach out and grab her arms.
"Oh sorry . . ." Diamond looks up and feels her blood roars in her ears. She can't breathe for a moment.
Cynric Endell holds her steady as she feels her knees weaken for a second before she forces them to lock.
"Whoa, whoa. Are you okay?" he asks, keeping his grip on Diamond's arms. His green eyes are a concentrated shade of pale jade.
Diamond opens her mouth to say something, but nothing comes out. Just mumbling that she can't seem to stop. Her cheeks grow warm, so she gathers her senses and forces her lips to move at her command.
"Yes. Uh, yeah. I'm fine." she stutters. She quickly steps away and covers her face with her cowl.
"Are you sure?" Cynric asks.
"Yes!" Diamond snaps, quickly clearing her throat. "Yeah, I was just, heading to the training room."
She pads her way over to the archway which seems father than before, carefully keeping her eyes on Cynric as she watches with a weary look. Diamond bumps into the stone and nearly fumbles.
"Hehe, bye." She says before sidestepping into the room.
Diamond ducks under the archway and into the training room. She flops on a hay stack and sighs.
"Could you move?" a voice asks.
Diamond jostles upright and finds the elf, Niruin with a loaded bow, the point aimed directly at Diamond. Her eyes widen before she scampers out of the way and into the chests used for lockpicking practice.
Niruin lets the arrow fly around and it hits the target dead center. He quickly loads another arrow and holds for a second, shifting his aim up and nailing the target above. Diamond knows enough about him since he's Libby's archery trainer. She would always tease Libby about why they haven't become a thing yet since they spend so much time together and Libby would only smile and shake her head.
He doesn't seem to mind Diamond's company and since Diamond can't bring herself to go back out – what with Cynric about and Mercer with his domineering glare – so she pulls out her dagger and walks over to the practice dummy. There were already many other slashes and sloppy stitching along its body and entrails of straw overflow out of the gashes. Diamond closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before spinning her dagger and slashing at the dummy.
She keeps her eyes closed as she imagines a guard hurdling towards her. Diamond slashes her blade then spins low and slashes again, imagining she nicked him in the stomach. She then readies her fist and brings it swinging and feels the crunch of straw beneath her knuckles.
"Be careful." Niruin interrupts, but Dia doesn't reply back.
She instead navigates her way through the darkness to her proclaimed original spot. Fluttering her eyes, she's in front of the dummy again and swings at its head. Her hand hits the wood and she feels a splinter embed itself in the side of her hand. Diamond swears and drops her weapon to hold her wrist.
"Break a nail, Diamond?" Niruin sheathes his bow.
"I got splinters you asshole!" Diamond hisses. Her anger blazing from the pain in her hand.
It takes most of her control not to punch Niruin when he snickers as she approaches her.
"Let me help." He says.
"I've got it." Diamond sourly denies.
"No you don't." Niruin retorts.
"I said I -! Hey!" Diamond squeals.
Niruin grabs her by the shoulder and forces her to sit down in a chair near the back of the room. He pulls up a seat next to her. Diamond tries to get up but Niruin is ready. He gets up before her, puts his hand on her shoulder and forces her down again.
"I can do this all day. I'm not going anywhere." He says. "Just let me help. What's so wrong with that?"
Diamond can't answer. Truly nothing is wrong, but her being so prideful. So she sighs and holds out her hand. Niruin digs through his back pockets and pulls out a pair of tweezers, and a thin sewing needle. Diamond instantly retracts her hand.
"Whoa! What's that for?!" she demands.
"Just give me your hand, don't be so paranoid." Niruin says.
The word paranoid agitates Diamond to the core. She doesn't want to be like Astrid; whose paranoia is what made Diamond go into the coffin. In perspective, Diamond is friends with Libby, so the other Guild members have no reason or intention to hurt her unless something happens to Libby that's Diamond's fault, or her faction's fault. So really, she should naturally trust Niruin, since he seems to already trust her.
"Will is hurt?" she asks as he aims the sewing needle at her palm.
"No, though you may feel some pinching." He answers.
Diamond takes a deep breath as she feels the tip of the needle poke at her skin. She can't seem to look at his work, so she occupies herself by keeping her gaze around the room, and near the doorway. She grunts slightly as the pinches get harder, and clenches her jaw.
"I think we're bonding." She teases. Niruin chuckles and Diamond feels happy when she realizes it's genuine.
Her hand twitches and she shudders when she feels him pull something out from under her skin. This process goes on for a minute.
"How many are there?" she asks annoyed.
"Quite a few, but I'm only getting the ones that I figured would hurt. The others will come out on their own." Niruin says.
After another minute, Diamond's hand is stiff. When Niruin pulls out the last splinter, Dia clenches her hand into a fist and folds and unfolds her fingers. The pain is gone, though she sees more of them on the surface of her skin.
"Thanks."
"No problem." Niruin says as he gets up, tucking away his equipment. Diamond watches him stretch and shrug out his shoulders.
Going over the members in her head, a twinge of jealousy pinches her chest. Most of the Guild members seem, genuine. Diamond had expected it to be much like the Brotherhood. A family, but still divided; where it's every man of him or herself, and if one gets caught no one is going to save you. But the Thieves Guild is surprisingly different. Members talk to one another, they listen, and it almost is like a family. Despite what Sapphire said to Diamond, about it not being a family but a business; Diamond thinks she's wrong.
"Why do you care anyway? It's not like we're family, this is a business." She told Diamond, yet she's more than willing to talk and listen to Libby.
Libby had so many people to talk to, and instead of them tolerating her, they actually listen. Their bond is, real. Libby had Brynjolf, Rune, Sapphire, Thrynn, Niruin, Cynric; practically everyone but Mercer and maybe Tonilia to talk to. Yet Diamond, Diamond only had Libby. Despite the loss of her parents, Libby managed to regain anther family, whereas Diamond got a rather, dysfunctional one. But then again, Diamond was never one to go around loving everyone she meets, and family shouldn't matter on size, but on the love and comfort they give you.
That feeling of belonging.
Niruin catches Diamond staring, though she doesn't look away. She's lost in her own trance.
"Something on your mind?" Niruin asks.
"Do you think I would belong here? Instead of the Brotherhood?" Diamond bluntly asks, her face serious.
Niruin stares at her for a few seconds before he speaks. "It's your choice, Diamond; not mine. It's not my place nor is it my purpose to tell you how you can and can't live."
"But do you think, if I did join the Guild, I'd be better?" Diamond pushes.
"That depends." Niruin folds his arms and leans against the wall. "Do you enjoy killing people?"
Diamond looks down to her hands cradled in her lap. She gets a, thrill and satisfaction by killing. But with the Guild, unless given permission, you can't kill anyone.
"Yes." She mumbles.
"Well, whether you like it or not, you are a natural born assassin. And since the Guild prohibits you against using your, natural abilities, it doesn't seem like the place for you. What made you think that?" Niruin asks.
"I just, I see Libby with all these people Libby has around the Guild to talk to, and I have, no one." Diamond says.
"You don't trust anyone in the Brotherhood?"
"It's not that. They seem attached to one another, just not me. I'm like that new kid."
"Well there you go." Niruin points out. He pulls up a chair across from Diamond. "How long have you been in the Brotherhood?"
"Uh, four years."
"So you're still technically new. And therefore you're being treated as the new student, the whelp." Niruin explains. "Libby's been here since she was a little girl. And through the years, she slowly earned her respect from the other members. Perhaps you need to just give it more time."
Diamond shrugs her shoulders.
"Is it more of the family you want? Or someone to just listen?" Niruin asks.
"Both. I mean, all I have is Libby. And sometimes I just wish I was a thief rather than an assassin. Things seem easier."
"Diamond, sometimes it's not about what you want, but what you are. You are an assassin. It's in your blood." says Niruin. "Not using your natural abilities would be like the Dragonborn refusing to speak. Which, from what I heard, he tried for a while after his first Thu'um nearly deafened the entire town of Riverwood. So it's understandable what you're going through, but not being yourself is never the answer."
"So what do I do?" Diamond asks.
"Learn from what happens. Anyone here would be happy to train you if the resources you have isn't enough. Practice until you gain control, and regain your confidence."
Diamond looks to Niruin and can't help but smile. She feels a fluttering of happiness in her chest and fidgets with a giddy feeling. "Wait, you won't tell anyone, will you?"
"Nothing leaves this room." Niruin promises. He then gets up and heads out.
"Nuruin," Diamond calls. He turns back. "Thanks. This was, nice."
Niruin smiles. "Anytime. Hope to see you around the Guild."
Libby heads into the Bee and Barb at around midnight. By then, Keerava and the guests have mostly gone to sleep. Still there are a few lingering drunkards and customers, and Talen-Jei sweeps around the tables. He sees Libby and gives her a small smile; Libby smiles back.
He used to give Libby crap about what she did to Keerava. Back when Libby was just new to the Guild work schedule, she was sent to obtain money from three store owners, one being Keerava. She had used the knowledge of family against her to get her to pay, and Talen-Jei held a grudge against her. But after Libby had retrieved three, clean, flawless amethysts for Talen-Jei's engagement ring for Keerava, he seemed to lighten up. His likeness for the Guild hasn't changed, just Libby.
Libby enters through the northwest entrance and heads up a staircase to her immediate left. The upstairs holds all the rooms, and Libby finds Maven sitting at a table with a slice of bread in her hand.
According to Mjoll the Lioness, Maven has strong ties with the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild, making her the most influential person in Riften. When asked about her influence, Maven claims that she has Jarl Laila Law-Giver and the Riften Guard in her pocket. She is able to influence the outcome of any situation with Septims or by exploiting the fear that her allies will retaliate.
She has powerful ties, and not just the Guild or the Blue Palace in Solitude. Libby flicks her hood over her head and approaches her. Libby can't help but feel like she's approaching a snake, the venomous kind.
Maven looks to her. "So you're the one. Hmm. You don't look so impressive."
Libby snarls. "How about we skip the conversation?"
"You're a firebrand aren't you? It's about time Brynjolf sent me someone with business sense. I was beginning to think he was running some sort of beggar's guild over there." says Maven.
"You have no faith in the Guild?" Libby asks.
"Faith?" Maven snickers. "I don't have faith in anyone. All I care about is cause and effect. Did the job get done and was it done correctly? There's no grey area."
"Where do I begin?"
"Head to the Bannered Mare in Whiterun and look for Mallus Maccius. He'll fill you in on all the details." Maven explains.
Libby nods and turns about to leave when Maven speaks up again.
"One more time in case I wasn't clear. You butcher this job, and you'll be sorry." She threatens, and Libby has to prevent herself from laughing. Aside from getting shunned by the Guild, Libby could so easily and willingly slice Maven's head off with ease.
Libby only stares at her without flinching and then turns to head down the stairs. She exits the Bee and Barb and takes a deep breath. Whiterun. A part of her wants to bring Diamond along simply because they always travel together. But Mercer's orders forbid it. And with no way to contact Diamond without calamity, she'll just have to travel without word. Hopefully Diamond can figure it out.
The trip lasts hours. How many total Libby can't keep track. All she does know is that it's near dawn by the time she arrives to Whiterun. The Bannered Mare is open all hours of the day, with the exception of holidays.
Libby pushes through the front gate, giving the guards a courteous nod. She heads straight down the road to the end of the Plain District where the Bannered Mare sits atop a hill. Walking in, a warm breath of air flutters Libby's face.
"Come in, have a seat. I'm sure I've got a clean mug around here somewhere." The owner says. A sweet woman named Hulda.
Libby gives her a smile and looks around the inn. She finds a man sitting alone in the back corner of the kitchen. That has to be Mallus. Libby approaches with a little skip in step to imitate a young girl who found her friend.
When the man looks up at Libby he almost gives a look of annoyance. "Can't a man drink in peace?"
"Maven said you're expecting me." Libby says.
"I'm going to keep this short 'cause we've got a lot to do." He says, and Libby nods. "Honningbrew's owner, Sabjorn, is about to hold a tasting for Whiterun's Captain of the guard and we're going to poison the mead."
"You have the poison?" Libby asks, taking a seat across from Mallus.
"No, no. that's the beauty of the whole plan." He says. "We're going to get Sabjorn to give it to us. The meadery has quite a pest problem, and the whole city knows about it. Pest poison and mead don't mix well, you know what I mean?"
"How do I fit in this?" Libby asks.
"You're going to happen by, and lend poor old Sabjorn a helping hand." Mallus explains. "He's going to give you the poison to use on the pests, but you're also going to dump it into the brewing vat."
"Clever." Libby credits.
"Maven and I spent weeks planning this. All we need is someone like you to get in there and get it done. Now get going before Sabjorn grows a brain and hires someone else to do the dirty work."
Libby nods and gets up. "Can I ask, why are you dog all this?"
Mallus sighs. "I struck a deal with Sabjorn years ago. I work my fingers to the bone and still he refuses to pay my debt. I work like a slave and receive little payment." He growls. "I need that bastard to pay. Then I take over and Maven has no more competition."
"Ah." Libby says. "Will you be there later?"
"The tasting is soon, I won't say, but yes I will. If it all goes well, I want to see Sabjorn get led away in chains."
"And on that pleasant note I'll be off."
"Remember, Sabjorn will be needing a helping hand. Make it look good."
Libby exits through the door in the kitchen and heads down the steps. Since the carriage gives rides to only the capital cities, she'd have to go on foot.
Passing through the gates, Libby alternates between walking and jogging as she approaches the meadery outside of town. She debates on changing clothes, since Mallus said to look good, but this job sounds complicated, and the last thing Libby needs is getting infected with a debilitating disease from those vermin.
Approaching the meadery, Libby decides to undo her hair and unbutton the straps around her neck to show a more casual vibe. Hopefully the man doesn't recognize Guild armor. Her hair falls in waves around her shoulders and she wipes her hands on her thighs. Here goes nothing.
When she enters, who nose instantly wrinkles in disgust. Over in the corner is a dead skeever, splatters of blood under its body. Sabjorn stands in front of the counter.
"What are you gawking at? Can't you see I have problems here?" he speaks.
"Is something wrong?" Libby asks, her tone higher to produce a more feminine demeanor.
"Are you kidding me? Look at this place." Sabjorn says. "I'm supposed to be holding a tasting of the new Honningbrew Reserve for the Captain of the Guard. If he sees the meadery in this state, I'll be ruined."
"I might be able to help." Libby suggests.
"Oh really? And I don't suppose you'd just do it out of the kindness of your heart, would you?" Sabjorn questions. "I hope you're not expecting to get paid until the job is done."
"You had better, or I yell "Skeever!" Libby intimidates.
"Okay, okay. No need to make rash decisions." Sabjorn submits. "Here's half. You get the rest when the job's done."
Libby takes the gold with an overly-pleasant smile.
"My only demand is that these vermin are permanently eliminated before my reputation is completely destroyed." says Sabjorn.
"So how do I "permanently" clear the vermin?" Libby asks.
"I bought some poison. I was going to have my lazy, good-for-nothing assistant Mallus handle it, but he seems to have vanished." says Sabjorn. "If you plant this in the vermin's nest, it should stop them from ever coming back."
"You've got a deal."
"Don't come back until every one of those things are dead." Sabjorn orders.
Libby nods and gives him a salute before she heads into the meadery room. There are barrels everywhere with sacks on a level above. Libby puts her hair in a simple ponytail with no time to braid her hair. A small staircase leads down to the cellar, and Libby can see a splatter of blood along with several bear traps. She takes a breath and enters the cellar.
Upon entering, three dead skeever bodies lie before her. Libby goes into stealth and readies her dagger. She spots the first skeever and stalks close to it. The rat-like creature stands on its hind legs and sniffs. Libby grips it by the tail and stabs it through the chest. Killing animals is much easier than people.
She dodges out of the way as another comes leaping at her head. It hisses and as it tries to leap again, Libby brings her dagger up and it stabs it through the throat. She slaps the thing to the floor, freeing her dagger in the process. Wiping the blood on the fur, she continues on. Heading down into a tunnel through the meadery, she steadies her feet as she comes to a small cave with more of the vermin. Each die easily with one slash of her blade.
Heading deeper in still, the walls become lined with webs. Libby breaks through them, keeping them away from her face and ensuring she doesn't get many in her hair. Frostbite spiders hiss and raise their front legs at her in hatred. Libby slashes one, before dodging a spit of web from another. Rolling up on one knee, she stabs the second through the head, then spins and nicks a smaller one. On the final spider, Libby first kicks under it before jabbing the hilt at its skull.
She shudders. "I hate these things."
She hustles down the tunnel and comes to a small area with stacks of hay and several bear traps. As she finds another opening on the other side, she finds a tripwire. By activation a mace comes swinging down. This disturbs Libby slightly. Knowing Sabjorn and Mallus couldn't have set these up, what did? Who did?
Libby takes cautious steps as she venture further. Staying low she slides down a small hill and finds the passage leads to another room. Up ahead, the silhouette of skeevers walk through the mist. Libby manages to sneak up on one and kill it, but it squeals and alerts another. Libby rolls to the side as it comes over and sniffs the dead body of its comrade. Libby come up and stabs her blade through its skull. The body goes limp, and Libby continues on.
She's just passing a wall of rocks when there's an explosion.
It's like fire blossoming from a bud. Chunks of rock and dirt spray from the center of the bloom, and Libby's body is among them, a limp projectile. She feels her body slam into something hard, either another rock or the wall, then there's another adamantine smack of the packed earth beneath her. An acrid smoke fills the air, which is not the best remedy for someone trying to regain the ability to breathe. A deep rumble moves through Libby like a shudder.
As she tries to push herself to her feet, she hears the hissing and her body goes cold. She dodges and grips a stalactite just as another fiery explosion thrusts her body against the ceiling. Her nails can't dig into the stone before another hissing hurdles toward her. Libby drops and pain stabs her jaw and spreads across her face, making her vision go black at the edges and her ears ring. She blinks and lurches to the side as the room dips and sways.
What the hell?!
Libby blinks and finds a shirtless man running towards her, wards of lightning and fire in his hands. Libby is too off-balance to do anything but move away from him, as far as her legs will allow. There's the zapping sound of lightning, and soon Libby feels the electric current bite her in the leg, then lick its way up her thigh and through her shoulders. A scream of pain bursts from her mouth and she feels dizzy.
"You never should have come here!" The man taunts.
He grabs a handful of Libby's hair and slams her head against something hard. The man darts in front of Libby and kicks her hard in the stomach. His foot forces the air from her lungs and it hurts, hurts so badly Libby can't breathe, or maybe that's because of the kick, she doesn't know, she just falls.
On your feet is the only thought in her mind. She pushes herself up, but the man is already there. He grabs her hair again and punches her in the nose with the other. The pain is different, less a stab and more like a crackle, crackling in her brain, spotting her vision with different colors, blue, green, red. He punches her again, this time in the ribs. Libby's face is wet. Bloody nose. More red, she guess, but she's too dizzy to look down. The blood streaming from Libby's nose is thick and dark and covers her fingers in seconds.
Libby falls again, scraping her hands on the ground, blinking, sluggish and slow and hot. She coughs up spits of blood and drags herself to her feet. She really should be lying down if the room is spinning this fast. There's the pinching of skin and Libby can feel saliva of the skeevers. Annoyed, Libby rolls rover so the animal's beneath her and slashes her blade deep into the side of its neck. Flames chomp her from the side and Libby almost falls again.
On my feet. On my feet! Libby screams, a high screech that belongs to someone else and not her. Libby tackles the man and pins him to the ground. Libby punches, and the man moves his head out of the way, but Libby punches again, and again, until her fists hit his jaw, his nose, his mouth. Libby digs her nails into his skin as if it's a wall she has to climb, she claws her way up his body. Blood runs down the side of the man's face and splatters on the ground next to his cheek.
Libby is screaming, harsh bursts of sound that flay the air with their fury. It's as if all her anger, at anything in the world was now condensed into theses screams along with her flailing fists. The man howls and drags one of his arms free. He punches Libby in the ear, knocking her off balance and wriggles free. His hand glows gold and Libby can tell it's a healing spell. She snarls and grabs the man's wrist and snaps his hand backwards. He cries out a howl of pain and Libby reaches for her dagger.
She flips the blade out, grabs the man by his hair at the forefront of his skull, keeping his head pinned down and drives her knife deep into his chest; burying it to the hilt. He sags deflating slowly onto the dirt. His blood seeps along the knife hilt, thick and warm, and coats Libby's hands.
She doesn't care.
The anger of his flames and lightning nipping her body fuels her rage, and she stabs him again, this time in the stomach. The annoying ability that he can run and heal himself while she's left to drip blood. She stabs him again, this time slashing his face. Blood springs from it and splatters on her face. Anger of other past occasions. Another stab to the chest.
Suddenly Brynjolf's face flashes in her head and Libby gasps and practically falls off the man's body as if she had ben flung back by an invisible force. She gasps and scoots herself back against the wall. She breathes through gritted teeth, staring at the man's blood-covered face, the color deep and rich and beautiful, in a way.
He groans, and Libby hears a gurgling in his throat, and he stills. The other skeevers are dead, probable caught in the crossfire.
Libby can feel blood trickle from her eyebrow and lip. She wipes the sweat from her forehead.
Libby struggles to her feet, wiping blood from her eyebrow with her sleeve.
"It's over." She mutters to herself. "I won."
Libby stays pressed to the wall for a moment, letting the feeling of nausea well through her. Vomiting might actually be a relief. The adrenaline starts to finish its course through her body, and Libby holds her stomach. She coughs to encourage it, but her stomach is empty.
She sits on a rock for a moment, holding her head in her head. Looking to the far left of the room, there's the nest and an alchemy lab. Libby's heart leaps in her throat, and suddenly all the pains in her body vanish for seconds as she hurries over to the lab. There's a chest next to it with a bottle of Vigorous Healing lying atop it.
Libby frantically takes the bottle, popping the cork and gulps the entire bottle down; the liquid tastes like spoiled berries, but as soon as it passes her throat, her nausea is instantly gone. As her pain begins to decrease, she forces herself to take a breath. She feels the magic of the serum work all along her body. The pain in her muscles reduces to a mere throb, her urge to vomit vanishes and she can feel her wounds being healed. She touches her forehead, and her fingers come away red. Compared to the gushing gash from before, her fingers are merely smeared.
She takes a deep breath and rises from her seat on the chest.
"I'm okay." She whispers. I'm fine now," she says again, this time for herself.
She wishes she could say she feels guilty for what she did.
She doesn't.
Libby sheaths her dagger and begins to walk through the entryway she finds and follows the path up to the other part of the meadery basement. She finds no skeevers, and heads for the door leading the boilery.
The room has giant brats of mead on either side of the room. Opposite her entrance is the exit and a ladder leading to the second level. Libby stretches her muscles and allows herself to jog up to the second floor. She rounds the floor and settles on the middle vat on the right. She opens the brewer lid and pours the remains of the poison into the brewing vat, every last drop including the bottle itself. At this point, it really doesn't make a difference.
Libby then climbs down the latter and manages to catch herself in the reflection of the vat. Blood is doused on her uniform and smeared on her cheeks. Her hands are capped with the red liquid and her hair is a tangled mat.
She feels the need to clean herself up as best she can, so she can only run her fingers through her hair and put it up in its braid as best she can. Her scalp tingles and her follicles sting from even the slightest pull. Libby grits her teeth and looks around the room to find something to wipe her face. There's nothing.
Libby sighs and decides it wouldn't make a difference. So she spits into the fire beneath the vat and uses the key to head back out to the open world.
The path had led her to the other side of the meadery, as now she's at the front porch. Libby smoothes her hair and takes a deep breath as she pushes through the doors.
Mallus is in the corner, his eyes widening as Libby enters. The Captain of the Guard is by one of the mead barrels, he doesn't turn to notice Libby. Libby glares at Mallus as she passes and reports to Sabjorn. She slams her palm onto the counter.
Sabjorn turns, "Was something we discussed unclear?"
"Job's done." Libby spits.
Sabjorn doesn't seem to notice her wounds, but even if he does, he doesn't care. "Well it's about time! I had to stall the captain until you were finished."
"What about my pay?!" Libby snarls.
Sabjorn shushes her. "You'll just have to wait until after the captain's finished. I supposed you can wait around if you must."
Libby snarls as Sabjorn turns to assist the captain. Libby turns and passes Mallus who whispers, "I can't wait to see Sabjorn squirm."
Libby ignore him, intentionally bumping his shoulder a she sits at a table in the corner. She sniffs and wipes her eyebrow to see if it's still bleeding. She recognizes the captain. Commander Caius. Libby took a couple lessons on handling one-handed weapons, so they at least know of each other. He turns and gives Libby a smile, Libby smiles and gives him a small wave, now trying to cover her wounds.
"Well Sabjorn, now that you've taken care of your little pest problem, how about I get a taste of some of your mead?" the Commander says.
"Help yourself, milord. It's my finest brew yet . . . I call it Honningbrew Reserve. I think you'll find it quite pleasing to your palate." Sabjorn swoons. Libby rolls her eyes.
"Oh come now, this is mead . . . not some wine to be sipped or savored." The Commander dismisses.
Libby feels a twinge of guilt in her chest as the Commander fills his cup and takes a sip. He coughs and spews the liquid out. "By the Eight?! What . . . what's in this?!"
Libby can see Mallus smiling.
Sabjorn fidgets. "I . . . I don't know. What's wrong?"
"You assured me this place was clean!" The Commander barks. Libby runs up and holds him by the arm as he leans on the counter. He gives Libby a slight nod. "I'll see . . . see to it that you remain in irons for the rest of your days!"
"No, please! I don't understand . . ." Sabjorn pleads.
"Silence idiot!" Commander Caius barks. "I should have known better . . . to trust this place after it's been riddled with filth." He pushes himself off the counter and Libby keeps her grip on his arm.
"I beg you . . . please! This is not what it seems!"
Commander Caius stands straight and gives Libby's hand a pat as a thank you. He walks over to Mallus, whose face has changed to looks serious and bewildered by the event.
"You . . . you're in charge here until I can sort this all out." Commander says.
"It will be my pleasure." Mallus accepts.
The Commander turns and walks back to Sabjorn. "And you . . . you're coming with me to Dragonsreach. We'll see how quickly your memory clears in the city's prison. Now . . . move."
The Commander struggles to speak and Libby flinches forward to help him, but he holds his side and holds his hand palm up to signal he's fine.
"Look, I assure you, this is all just a huge misunderstanding!" Sabjorn pleads.
The Commander snarls and draws his sword. "I said move!" he barks.
Sabjorn submits and follows ahead of the captain.
"So long Sabjorn." Mallus says.
Libby sits at the bar stool and watches as Sabjorn and the Commander leave the meadery.
"I don't think that could've gone any better." Mallus smiles.
Libby glares at him and gets up from her seat.
"I can't believe that actually worked!" Mallus cheers.
Libby seethes, grabs the front of Mallus' shirt and throws her weight into a punch. She nails his cheek and as his body shifts, Libby drives her fist into his stomach, right over his bellybutton. Mallus collapses into the counter, the skin around his eyes swelling, his breathing ragged.
"You could've told me about that maniac living in the tunnels!" Libby shouts.
Mallus shifts to his elbows and adjusts his jaw. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He says in a raspy tone. "I didn't include that information in our last conversation because I didn't want you bailing out on the job. And also you spared me the coin of hiring someone else to do it."
"That wouldn't have made a difference! It would've been better if I'd known! He nearly killed me!" Libby screams. She slams her fist into Mallus' stomach again. "You think I got these marks from those fucking skeevers?! Without that potion I found, I would not have made it out alive!"
Mallus holds his stomach. "I'm . . . I'm sorry. I shouldn't have doubted you. And I can see you did make it out alive, so now we'll all go home happy. Maven gets what she wanted, I'm a free man. We're all happy."
"This pay had better be worth it!" Libby seethes through grit teeth.
"It will be. I promise." Mallus struggles to pull himself to his feet. Libby sighs and helps him, setting him on the bar stool and dropping a potion of minor healing next to him. "Anything else before you head back to Riften?"
"I need to get a look at Sabjorn's books." Libby says.
"So, Maven wants to hunt down Sabjorn's private partner, huh? You're welcome to take a look around Sabjorn's office. He keeps most of his papers stashed in his desk." Mallus says. "Here this should help." He hands Libby the key to the door.
Libby takes it and heads into the room again and heads upstairs from a hidden staircase behind the wall. She rounds the room to the door and opens to find a bedroom with a wardrobe and a small desk with a display case and coin purses.
At the one side of the room, Libby finds Sabjorn's dresser and uses the key to unlock it. Inside she finds a Promissory Note and some gold. Swiping both in her pockets, she trifles through the rest of his things, collecting the gold as her own form of reward.
Jumping back down the stairs, she goes back to the main room. "Alright, I'm heading out."
"Remember to put in a good word with Maven for me." Mallus winks.
Libby gives a half smiles as she pushes the door open with her hip and begins her journey back to the Whiterun Stables for a relaxing carriage ride.