Diamond purposely takes the longer route to the Guild, navigating through the Ratways to get the Ragged Flagon. Once inside, she notices a small difference. A merchant has set up shop just outside the Flagon. As Diamond passes by, she notices it's an elf. She walks up the ramp and receives a nod of hello from Dirge. On a course of luck, Diamond finds Vex standing in her usual spot of the Flagon.
Diamond approaches her when Vex turns her head and spots her, she keeps her face placid and scolding. "What's up?" Vex almost demands.
Diamond doesn't' bother wasting breath and time asking if she's okay. Besides the fact that Vex doesn't really press any emotion besides anger and annoyance, Diamond isn't there to dwell. She digs through her pocket and pulls out the gold box. "Is this unusual gem worth anything?"
Vex's eyes widen. "Been a while since I've seen one of those." She breathes in disbelief. "What you've got there is a Stone of Barenziah."
"Is it worth anything?" Diamond asks.
"Not like that it isn't. The stone was pried off of Barenziah's ceremonial crown by a thief in order to cover his tracks."
"And how many are there?"
"I think there were, twenty-four in all. Most people keep them as a curiosity. Some of the Guild members have tried to locate them over the years, but they haven't been successful . . . well, until now." Vex explains.
"Don't thank me, Libby found it." Diamond says.
"I figured." Vex smirks. "When did she give it to you?"
Instead of telling Vex that Diamond found it on her nightstand when she really last saw it near Libby's bed, she lies and shrugs her shoulders. "I think she gave it to me because it's pink."
Vex rolls her eyes.
"You sure you won't buy it?" Diamond asks.
"Look, I only buy things I can turn around quickly for a profit. And no one wants these stones unless they have the whole set." Vex says. Diamond's face lowers into disappointment, then Vex recovers. "Tell you what, if you find the rest of them, talk to me again. Otherwise, keep it. It may even bring you luck."
Diamond can't fight the smile as she nods to Vex. It grows wider when she sees Vex have a half smile on her face. Diamond tucks the gem away and then looks for Brynjolf.
It's now been six days since Libby's murder. Diamond hasn't been in contact with Brynjolf since the day he told her in the Cistern. Wonder how he's holding up.
Diamond enters the Cistern, and while things seem normal, there's still a heaviness of grief and dread. The Guild members go about their business, Mercer ay his desk while others gather at the archery station, the cooking pot or just sit around the Cistern, dipping their feet in the water. Diamond decides to ask Thrynn where to find Brynjolf. He says she'll find him in the training room. Diamond heads inside, and he's there; standing with his arms folded, observing Niruin as he shoots arrows at all the targets. Diamond approaches him, fidgeting with her fingers.
"Brynjolf."
Brynjolf's head turns to look, and Diamond can see a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Well now, aren't you a sight for sore eyes. I wasn't certain I'd ever see you again, lass."
"I came to talk." Diamond vaguely says.
Brynjolf's lips flatten into a tight line, but he nods. Being a man of the Guild, he understands vague talk like it's a second language, which in a way, it is. He escorts Diamond out of the training room and into the hallway outside. He leans against the wall, arms crossed waiting for Diamond to start. She nervously fiddles with her fingers, then forces herself to stop and just say it.
"I don't think Libby is really gone." Diamond first starts. Brynjolf opens his mouth to say something, but Diamond cuts him off. "And this isn't just denial, it's something, more. Look, I know this sounds preposterous but you and I both know Libby. She's too, good. And I just know it. I can feel it inside me."
"I can't be certain about a certain feeling of a sixteen-year-old." Brynjolf says.
"There's more to it than that. I've been thinking . . . and, doesn't it seem, oddly convenient that Mercer made it out but Libby didn't?"
"Diamond, Mercer is the Guild Master for a reason. He's the best at larceny." Brynjolf reminds. "And Libby is good, but she was going against Karliah."
"Brynjolf you know her!" Diamond suddenly snaps. Unsure where the sudden burst of anger came from, she doesn't care; she simply rides its wave as it spews words from her mouth like vicious fire. "She's been in the Guild all her life! She's too cautious to wind up being murdered at the hands of Karliah!"
Brynjolf folds his lips in, whether to suppress anger or to try and organize the right words together. His voice is firm. "She was good, Diamond. But she was pitted against Karliah. Karliah was Gallus's old partner. She's had much more experience and her greatest weapon is the element of surprise."
"So you don't think she was ever good enough?! How can you think that about her?!"
"Because it's Karliah! Next to Gallus, she was the best we ever had in this Guild!" Brynjolf barks back. His voice is loud and deep and it reverberates through Diamond's bones, nearly shaking her to the core. Still, she doesn't cower.
Instead, Diamond relaxes her shoulders and steps back. When Brynjolf looks to her, she snarls. Diamond's voice is hard as ice, and just as cold.
"You never believed in her, did you."
A millisecond after the words slip from her tongue, Diamond feels the wind get knocked out of her as pain soars through her spine, and she realizes Brynjolf has pinned her against the wall. The wound in her shoulder throbs harshly, still Diamond bites the inside of her lips to suppress a groan.
Diamond opens her eyes, only to find Brynjolf's piercing through her. They say looks could kill? Well, if that's the case, Diamond would be dead three times over.
Brynjolf's breathing is fast, and his voice is a low whisper as he speaks. "I've raised that girl since she was a small lass barely able to swing a blade. I've watched her grow and prosper, and bypass anyone's expectations of her. So don't you dare, say that I never believed in her!"
At this, he grips Diamond's shoulder; his fingers squeezing the wound until Diamond was sure he would leave it black and blue. Diamond grits her teeth and squeezes her eyes shut tight as she tries to suppress her scream of pain, and it takes everything she has not to push him off her. Brynjolf's grip loosens, but still he sneers.
"You want the truth? I think Libby could've handled Karilah with one arm tied behind her back. But Karilah was ready for them. She had planned this whole thing since the beginning, you don't think she expected them to come?"
He releases Diamond harshly, and she catches herself before she could slip to the floor. She instantly grips her shoulder and begins to rub it to dull the pain. Regret flashes through Brynjolf's eyes, then Diamond can see them gleam from tears. She sniffs and pretend to itch his eyes.
"Why are you so easily excusing this? That's what I'm really mad about." Diamond croaks.
"What are you talking about?"
"Libby was everything to you." Diamond spits. "Yet here you are, standing in the training room, acting like: "Op, well we lost another member, that's just business. Better get back to work and find someone else!" You're acting like she wasn't that important!"
She readies herself to Brynjolf to spring at her and slit her throat, but composes himself better this time and takes a deep breath, though his eyes blaze with anger. He pushes off the wall, stands straight and folds his arms. "Diamond, why do you think we now have a new merchant outside the Flagon?" Brynjolf asks, his voice deep and soft.
Diamond's eyes flick from side to side, expecting a trap. She shrugs her shoulders. "Because you've earned more money?"
"Money, that Libby has brought us. He moved in just after we got the news. She completed a special requested job from Delvin, gained us an ally in Whiterun, and in turn a merchant. That means news of the Guild is spreading. Just as we're reclaiming Skyrim, we lose our most valuable member." Brynjolf's voice softens to a hurt whisper. "Now's she can't even see her work."
Diamond bites her lip and averts her gaze. "I'm sorry." She mumbles.
"Where'd all this come from anyway?" Brynjolf asks.
"I already told you." Diamond sighs. "I just find it, suspicious. I mean, you and I both know that Libby is great at what she does. She's more than capable of leveling with Mercer. And the one mission she's finally assigned with him, she . . . dies. You don't find that strange? Not even oddly coincidental?"
"I've already told you Diamond, Libby . . ."
"No disrespect Brynjolf," Diamond interrupts. "But you didn't know Libby the way I did."
At this, Brynjolf doesn't argue, he instead chuckles. "You're right. But what did she say?"
"She always had theses suspicions that Mercer never liked her. How he always had this, disapproving glare always aimed at her. And no matter what she did, she could never mount. I don't know, I just feel like there's something missing. Something Mercer isn't telling everyone."
"Diamond, you do realize the level of treachery you could show for blaming the Guild Master for something he didn't do?" Brynjolf warns.
"I'm not blaming him for anything. Not yet."
Brynjolf sighs in defeat. "Libby always said you were stubborn. Well, if you want to pursue this, be my guest. Just keep it outside the Guild, and watch what you say. Be careful Diamond. The walls have ears."
Diamond nods, and before Brynjolf leaves, Diamond is surprised to feel his hand pat the top of her head. He then turns the corner and is out of sight, doesn't look back. Diamond leans against the wall with her fingers intertwined together. She pulls out the gem again and turns it to gaze at the bottom. The Guild symbol scratched into the otherwise flawless gold casing.
Libby had told Diamond that the Guild shadowmark was always her way of telling Diamond that she was near or around. Diamond would constantly see it on barrels filled with supplies, in alleyways where she could meat merchants to sell her goods and buy illegal but powerful weapons. It always led Diamond to success and things just as she needs them the most. It's never failed her. So why doubt it now just because the Guild members are willing to give up.
Diamond goes over the event in her head. Mercer said that Libby walked two steps in front of him. And apart from their missions, Libby was never one to lead. She would rather go solo than bring anyone else along who might risk her chances of exposure on a job. So, if Mercer claims she went ahead, and given it's her first mission together, Diamond can only assume he made her take the lead. Then whatever happened to "No Man Left Behind?" why hadn't he bothered to rescue Libby, even if she was already dead on the scene. Why wouldn't he rescue her if she had even the slightest chance of surviving? Take her to a mage or a healer?
If he really cared about her, he would have. Diamond thinks.
But he doesn't, so he didn't. But this is all Diamond has, and it isn't much compared to the story Mercer probably has. Knowing him, he'll probably come up with every bullshit answer he can pull out of his ass. It wouldn't even have to be good for the Guild members to believe him. And since Diamond is an outsider, her chances are even slimmer than that. She'll need solid, sure evidence for the Guild to be on her side.
But the only evidence Diamond can think of to prove something like that, it Libby being alive. And since she only has her gut feeling to follow, Diamond's motivation wans. But then she remembers what Libby said one day while they were raiding a bandit camp, to always trust herself.
"You've got great instincts Diamond. I know you think they're a weakness, but they're a strength. Trust them."
Diamond fists her hand and stows away the gem. She pushes off the wall and jogs to the opposite side of the Cistern. She pops through the sewer entrance and jogs up the steps out of the mausoleum.
Libby is alive. And she's going to prove it.
Diamond jogs all the way up to the main gates, where she quickly barrels through and up the stables. As she mounts Shadowmere, she pulls out the map she took from inside Libby's end table. Snow Veil Sanctum is to the northeast, if she were to walk all night – Shadowmere more than capable of taking it – she could make it there by dawn.
She snaps the reins and Shadowmere trots down the main road. They make it all the way towards the first burial crypt before Snow Veil Sanctum. As she passes the entrance, a part of her is hesitant to enter, afraid she might find Libby's remains; but she keeps pursuing going off the feeling she won't.
Shadowmere suddenly stops and neighs with caution. Diamond dismounts and walks ahead thinking he might see something in the bushes. Suddenly three arrows zip out from the trees above, and explode on impact of the ground before Diamond could even draw her sword. Within the smoke, Diamond is blown back and Shadowmere neighs in distress and trots a few paces back.
Diamond pushes to her feet immediately and readies her weapon. In her solo visit to Whiterun one day, she managed to sneak into the armory and snatch a steel battleaxe. It's powerful and within hours of training in the woods and scaring trees, Diamond now wield the weapons like an extension of her arms.
The shadows coalesce before her into a shrouded figure. Every inch of the skin is wrapped in purple and black cloth. From the shoulders hangs a pale gray cloak. She expects another Faceless to emerge, but as the smoke dissipates, the first immediate difference she notices is the built. Despite the tight wrappings the thickness of the arms and wideness of the shoulders suggested male. Shadows seem to curl about his body like mist off a pond. Also, he wore a mask that covered the lower half of his face where Diamond expected to see a white cloth. His eyes are so deep-set dark blue, a dreaming, sleeping, waiting color.
"Who are you with?" Diamond demands.
"Take a guess." He says as she chucks a trio of daggers at Diamond. They shoot straight with amazing speed. Diamond manages to block them all, but then she notices he has several more clipped to his belt.
"I thought the Faceless only recruited women." Diamond smacks.
"Then you should realize the danger you're in if I'm an exception. It's not about numbers when it comes to the Faceless, it's about skill." The man retorts. Even with his cowl, Diamond snarls as she can see a mocking smile behind the fabric.
"What do you want with me?" Diamond questions.
"Isn't it obvious? Or is your brain so tiny it can't make the simplest connection?" he mocks.
Diamond grits her teeth and despite her urge to bolt forward and attack, she remains rooted in place. Libby always said she lets her enemies easily get under her skin. She needs a clear mind. Diamond learned that on their third mission together one Frostfall. And now she plans to show that Libby's teachings are now branded into her skin now.
The man draws two serrated daggers and spins them between his fingers before taking a fighting stance. Diamond holds the hilt of her weapon and sneers. She shouldn't really call him a man since he looks only a couple years older than her. Possibly Libby's age. He suddenly throws two more daggers, and while Diamond managed to block two, one managed to bite into her skin. She grunts in pain and feels a sharp punch to her cheek before a kick to her stomach that sends her back.
Rolling with the momentum, Diamond manages to come up on one knee. And block the man's feet as it intended to slam into her face. She pushes him off and rolls back as he lands a few feet away. Diamond pulls out the dagger before standing on her feet, keeping most of her weight on the uninjured leg.
"Mm, looks like that hurt." The man says as he charges forward.
"I have a very high pain tolerance." Diamond bites back.
"And I have highly poisonous daggers." He says back.
Diamond blocks his first two jabs, he ducks as she tries to swing at his head, then block again as he tries to slash her face. Diamond kicks his legs out from under him and punches him straight in the jaw. She goes to bring her leg up and the man backflips onto a nearby rock. He rubs his jaw.
"Now that was unexpected. Does this mean the Faceless finally decided to give me a challenge?" he sarcastically asks, though there is a bit of surprise in his tone.
Diamond knows why; she can practically hear what he's thinking. She's small, so she's an easy target, but she is also an assassin, so she's not that easy to beat. He must know she's killed people, so they're on a level playing field.
"That's fine. The other contracts were dull." He finishes.
"Why are they send you after me." Diamond demands.
The man hops down from the rocks and casually strolls towards Diamond. "Because we've heard rumors. And we gave you a warning, which you ceased to ignore. Now you must be given retribution."
Grabbing two daggers, she launches them straight at him, and he blocks one, and flipping back blocks the other. He lands in a somewhat seated position and smiles.
"Not bad for a kid. This might actually get interesting." He mocks.
Diamond feels a sting in her jaw and nearly screams into her teeth. She stumbles back and readies her battleaxe as he goes to slice at her throat. She heavily swings her weapon and he bends forward balancing on his hands. Diamond dances from side to side as his legs spin. She goes to swing again and he pivots on the heel of his hand and pushes off his feet flipping back several feet. He has powerful legs. He drops his serrated blades to throw four more daggers. Diamond blocks them all with the handle of her axe.
"Why don't you tell me your name?" Diamond provokes. "I'd like to get to know you better."
"I have no name." the man replies.
"You said you were faceless, not nameless, now tell me."
Diamond has a feeling that behind that cowl, it hides an amused smile.
"A strong candle." The man says. "My name is Malick."
"I suppose you're not nameless either?" Diamond smirks.
"If you're going to ask questions, at least make them relevant." Malick sneers.
He spins his daggers and lunges towards her. Diamond backflips and brings up her axe to block. Their strengths is matched. Diamond smirks as she pushes to her feet and slowly pushes his weapons off. He's surprised, but he barely shows it.
"You shouldn't judge something by its size." She smiles.
Suddenly he jerks his head forward and Diamond is knocked to the ground. Her grip on her weapon loosens.
"But I can judge by her stupidity." He bites back.
He raises his dagger ready to kill, when Shadowmere kicks him over her. He lands forward but recovers by tucking and rolling, coming up on one knee. Shadowmere stands over Diamond and neighs in fury. He snorts and pounds the ground with his front hoof. Diamond pushes to her feet and holds her side.
"Always good to have a loyal steed." She smirks.
The man's daggers seemed to have scattered as he now draws a steel sword.
"You don't give up easy."
"Now that wouldn't be much fun would it?" Malick says, wisps of shadow floating about him like smoke.
Malick readies his sword and charges forward again, and Diamond readies for a parry, but he sticks his sword into the ground at the last second. Confused, Diamond still swings her battleaxe. He ducks and swerves and as Diamond goes to strike again, he stops it with his hands. The hilt of the axe clasped between his palms, he wrenches it down and simultaneously kicks Diamond in the stomach. As Diamond skips across the dirt and onto her stomach, Malick spins the axe in his hands to mock her.
Diamond struggles to push to her feet and it doesn't help when Malick places his foot on her back, forcing her back down. He lines up the hook of Diamond's axe against her chin. With his free hand, he grabs her ponytail. Diamond clenches her teeth so tight they might crack.
"You're not as pathetic as you look." Malick says.
"Excuse me if I don't seem appreciative of your compliment!" Diamond hisses.
She hears Malick chuckle, then as suddenly as he seemed to grab her hair, he releases her. Her axe sticks into the ground barely missing her nose. Diamond watches as Malick steps in front of her and pulls his sword from the ground. He sheathes it and turns towards Diamond. His ragged cloak pools on the ground as if it were liquid darkness, yet when he steps back, it immediately snaps erect and wraps about his sides.
Malick tugs his hood in a mock salute, then fists bits of his cloak into his hands and snaps it about his body. Diamond watches as his form deteriorate into wisps of darkness. They swirl and billow before retreating into the blackness of the trees.
Shadowmere immediately rushes to Diamond's side and nuzzles his snout into her cheek.
"I'm okay boy, thanks." Diamond breathes as she pushes to her feet. She pries her battleaxe loose and sheathes it to her back. "Why didn't he kill me?" she mumbles to herself.
As she mounts Shadowmere, a sudden pain stabs her side and she nearly fumbles. Hoisting herself onto the steed, she keeps her hand at her side as it throbs.
"The Faceless are more random by the minute." She murmurs.
Snapping the reins, Diamond continues towards the ruins of Snow Veil Sanctum. No encounter by the Faceless is going to deprive her of her drive.
Despite the minor setback, she continues on towards the ruins.