I do not own Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Watching Moana as I edit this, and I'm wondering if maybe I should've cut this chapter in half...

Oh well. The last two chapters were kind of short, so this is fine. Enjoy!

Reviewer Responses:

P: Thank you for reviewing both chapters, friend! It makes me happy when my phone vibrates with an email about a review on one of my stories. I'm not sure that Brynjolf is being any less stubborn than Ziris, too be honest with you... but still, we'll see how he reacts to certain events soon enough.

Guest: I can't wait either, but, unfortunately, it won't be making an appearance until next chapter. Stick around for it.

Chapter 13: The Shadow-Sense

"So… I understand why we have to kill Karliah," Ziris began, following Mercer around the cistern as he made some last minute finalizations before they left, "but… why do you seem so worried?"

"I'm not worried," Mercer retorted over his shoulder.

"You're bringing me along with you," Ziris pointed out. "If you weren't the tiniest bit concerned, you'd be going by yourself."

"That's not why I'm bringing you whatsoever," Mercer told her. "I'm bringing you because Karliah and I used to work closely together. Gallus taught us both at the same time, and we knew everything about the other. We watched each other's backs, fought with one another… I know all Karliah's tricks, and, in turn, she knows all of mine."

"Aren't all your tricks my tricks?" Ziris questioned.

"Yes," Mercer said, as patiently as he could manage, "but isn't two using our tricks against one using our tricks the best option?"

Ziris nodded after a moment's thought. "All right, I see what you're saying." She paused. "But I still think you're worried."

Mercer rolled his eyes to himself, and slid behind his desk. Ziris knew better than to follow him there, and she remained standing across it from him, watching as he ruffled through one of the drawers. He didn't find whatever he was looking for, and he slammed it shut, before turning a glare towards her.

"I am not worried, and you shouldn't be, either," he told her.

"Why would I be worried?" Ziris asked, taken aback.

"I don't know, which makes me wonder why you believe I am," Mercer retorted, moving out from behind the desk again. "Now, are we going or not?"

"I was waiting for you," Ziris informed him, and Mercer huffed, then gestured in the direction of the ladder. Ziris headed that way.

Mercer glanced around for Brynjolf. The redhead was waiting quietly nearby, arms crossed. He approached, however, when Mercer waved him over.

"Keep an eye on everything," he murmured under his breath, watching Ziris glance back towards them. Her face hardened, and she quickly darted up the ladder. Mercer looked back at Brynjolf. "I mean it."

"I know," Brynjolf responded easily, although his eyes were dark. "Don't let Karliah get away again."

Mercer didn't bother responding that he didn't need to be told.

Once they were both up on the surface, Mercer led the way out of Riften. He didn't even pause as they passed the stables, and he started directly down the road, heading north. Ziris hurried after him, impressed with his speed.

"So," she started, catching up with them as the ground began to turn white with snowfall, and the trees began to disappear, "you've gotten special permission from the Dark Brotherhood to kill Karliah, hmm?"

"I don't need permission," Mercer grumbled under his breath without looking at her. "I have a long-standing arrangement with the Brotherhood. If I need someone in the Guild taken care of, we do it ourselves." He glanced sideways at her. "I know what you're thinking, so don't bother saying it. Karliah was once a member of the Guild, and therefore she is our responsibility."

Ziris turned her gaze to the ground, grateful that her boots always kept her sure-footed, no matter the terrain. "You told me that you and Karliah were… fairly close," she said carefully. "How close, exactly?"

Mercer exhaled through his nose. "Karliah and I were partners," he said simply. "Gallus trained the both of us together, and therefore, we knew how the other operated."

"What was she like?"

"She was a stubborn Dunmer," Mercer began, and Ziris listened as his voice seemed to take on a faraway tone, and she knew he was remembering. "We always had to do everything her way." Here, he glanced sideways at her. "She was also the best… bringing in more coin a month than some thieves heist in a year."

"I don't understand how… how she could've killed Gallus, if he was her mentor."

"He wasn't just her mentor," Mercer growled. "He ended up trusting her too much, and let her get too close."

Ziris frowned. "Did they have a relationship?"

Mercer snorted. "If you want to call it that. I think she was softening him for the kill."

Ziris returned her gaze to the ground, and considered it. She knew how it felt to love someone, and if Gallus and Karliah had really been in a relationship, she doubted it was for Karliah's benefit alone. She didn't know anyone who would pretend to love someone just to get further ahead, doubted that even Gallus's killer was capable of that.

So, if Karliah had loved Gallus, why would she have killed him?

Ziris supposed she would never know, or if she did, it would only be if Mercer gave her a chance to ask Karliah first, before he killed her.

The sun was setting when they finally crossed into Eastmarch, and neared Windhelm's walls. Mercer took a glance up at the sky and determined it was best if they got a room at the inn in the city for the night.

Ziris wholeheartedly agreed, for it was flurrying and she could use a mug of warm ale and a nice, cozy bed.

She ducked into Candlehearth Hall behind the Guild Master, and waited patiently as he haggled for a room. When he'd paid his ten coins, she followed him down the hall, listening as he grumbled about the ridiculous price.

"Mercer," she began after they'd each claimed a bed, and Mercer was beginning to exit the room to retrieve some food for himself.

He paused in the doorway, and glanced backwards at her, an eyebrow lifted. Ziris studied her feet for a moment, and then she glanced up at him. "Did…" She trailed off and rephrased: "Gallus loved Karliah?"

"He'd call her his 'little nightingale'," Mercer replied after a moment. "I'd say he was smitten, if nothing else." He shook his head in disgust.

"But you don't think she loved him?" He shook his head again. "Why would she have killed him?"

"Who can say?" Mercer asked gruffly. "Greed? Jealousy? Spite? I don't know, and at the present moment, I could care less. What I do care about is getting something hot to eat and drink. If you'd like to join me, I'd ask that you keep any further questions to yourself." With that, he stormed from their rented room, leaving Ziris to remain where she was on the edge of her bed, and wonder just how close the three thieves had been, before Karliah had done what she did.

She glanced towards the shadow that was against one wall, cast by the candles flickering on top of the single dresser against the wall between the two beds. It wavered as she shifted.

"The ever present shadows," she said, smiling a bit. "You haven't spoken to me in sometime. Why is that?"

"Perhaps they have nothing to share." Ziris jumped to her feet and whirled around to face the doorway of the room. A man in dark robes was leaning against the wall there, eyeing her, his head tilted. The hood of his robes was down, and Ziris took in his features, noting him as a Dunmer.

"Who are you?" she demanded, feeling defensive. He'd just heard her talking to shadows, after all. "What are you doing here?"

He smiled a bit at that. "That same as you, I imagine," he said. "Escaping the snow outside, warming myself by the fire upstairs." His head tilted in the other direction. "Waiting to hear what the shadows have to say."

Ziris gazed at him warily. "Who are you?" she asked again, and his smiled grew.

"My name is Vanrus. I am a Priest of Nocturnal, and I believe our Mother of Night has led me to you, thief."

Ziris was about to ask how he knew she was a thief, but then she remembered that she was wearing her Guild armor, and she swallowed the question back down.

Instead, she turned her attention to his title. "There are priests of Nocturnal?"

Ziris knew very little of the Daedric Prince. What she did know, she'd learned mostly from Delvin, and a lot of it had been spewed while he was very drunk. If he was to be believed, Nocturnal was worshipped by thieves and spies alike, being a patron of the darkness and shadows. Apparently, the Guild in Cyrodiil worshipped her like a Divine.

Ziris had a feeling the Skyrim branch of the Guild didn't do the same for a reason named Mercer Frey, otherwise known as the least religious person Ziris had ever met.

"Not as many priests as we'd like," Vanrus told her, taking a step into the room, "but… yes, there are. We tend to the small shrines that others like us have created throughout the years, and we listen to the shadows, so that our lady's words may reach the mortal realm." He dipped his head to her. "I have a feeling that she has led me to you."

Ziris gave him a skeptical look. "Didn't you just say that the shadows might not have anything to tell me?"

Vanrus laughed. "I think our meeting may have to do with something else. Knowing that you can hear the shadows as well… that gives me cause to wonder just what Nocturnal has planned for a thief such as you, one who has the shadow-sense."

"The shadow-sense? What in the name of the Eight Divines is that?"

Vanrus's head tilted in the direction of the shadow, and he gazed at her for a moment without speaking. When he did, however, he smiled again. "The shadows are unsurprised to hear that you do not understand, knowing who raised you, by all rights."

Ziris glanced at the shadows, and then back at the dark elf. "They know who Mercer is?"

"Oh, yes," Vanrus replied. "The shadows are well acquainted with your mentor, thief, perhaps even more so than you are."

Ziris felt as though she should be surprised to hear this, but she wasn't. "The Guild isn't very religious," she said after a moment, watching Vanrus as he approached the shadow. It seemed to stretch as he neared it, as though greeting him. "I know that the Guild in Cyrodiil is, however."

"That they are," Vanrus responded warmly, sounding pleased that she knew as much. "Prior to the death of your previous Guild Master, there was quite a bit of worship for the Night Mistress from a few of your fellow thieves." He glanced at her. "Would you like to know more?"

Ziris gazed at him, wondering what he meant. Then she remembered that Mercer was right upstairs, and wondered what his reaction would be, if he came down here and found her conversing with a Priest of Nocturnal about the Guild's past.

So, she shook her head. "I probably shouldn't."

Vanrus didn't seemed surprised. "You do not want to know the truth," he said.

"The truth…?"

Vanrus walked over to where she stood beside her bed, and rested the tips of his fingers against her forehead for a moment, murmuring something in another language under his breath. When he moved away, Ziris had to take a moment as the ground swayed beneath her feet, and her vision flashed in and out of focus.

When she'd regained her senses, Vanrus was gone, and Mercer was standing in the doorway instead, scowling at her.

"Are you coming to eat, or am I going to have to deal with your complaining tomorrow?" he ground out, and Ziris shook her head.

"Right behind you."

Mercer glared at her for another moment, and then he disappeared again. Ziris made sure her feet were firmly on the ground before going after him, wondering who Vanrus was, and what he'd just done to her.

Where am I?

Ziris sat up from where she was laying on a grassy knoll, and glanced around. She knew this place, had been across this part of the Rift several times on her way into Ivarstead for a job. She recognized the stream that was trickling nearby, and the rock that someone was seated on, not too far away from where she was.

She climbed to her feet, wondering why she wasn't in Candlehearth Hall, as she should have been, and wondered if she should approach the figure that was seated on the rock.

Before she could make up her mind, however, someone appeared from over a rise in the distance. "Mercer!" a light, pretty voice called, and Ziris instinctively dropped into a crouch, to avoid being seen for as long as possible.

The figure appearing from the distance picked up their pace to a jog, and Ziris watched as they came to a halt in front of the person on the rock. She could see that the newcomer was a young dark elf woman, with hair so black it seemed highlighted with purple. She was smiling warmly, and Ziris frowned to herself when she spotted the dark, curved bow on her back.

There was only one person this could be.

Karliah.

Karliah paused in front of the figure on the rock, who was, apparently, Mercer, if Karliah's call had proven anything. The Dunmer placed a hand on her hip, and gave him a playful scowl, before she burst into another warm grin.

"Why do you always look so angry?" she asked him. "Shouldn't you be excited? Gallus is showing us the Hall today."

Hall?

Ziris watched as Mercer stood up with an all-too-familiar grunt, and walked away from Karliah towards the stream, his back remaining turned in Ziris's direction.

"You're too excited," he informed Karliah. "We're going to be bounding our souls to a Daedra, for Gods' sakes."

"And we're going to be declared full-fledged Nightingales in the process," Karliah said sharply, her grin fading. "Don't pretend you're not even the slightest bit excited."

Mercer grunted again, and Karliah's eyes drifted around. Ziris stiffened when they turned in her direction, but they passed right over her, as though she weren't there.

Confused, she sat up, and watched as the dark elf followed Mercer towards the stream.

Can they not see me?

Deciding to take a chance, she stood and walked closer to them. Neither reacted to her presence, and she decided that they definitely could not see her, and didn't know she was there.

I must be dreaming, Ziris decided.

"And you're a mess!" Karliah was saying. Ziris watched as she reached over and began to rake her fingers through Mercer's hair, a lighter shade of brown than it was now, and without the streaks of gray that had come from twenty five years of being a Guild Master.

Ziris's mentor stood stock still as Karliah fussed over him, doing her best to wrangle his wild hair into a presentable state. When she'd arranged it as best as she could, Karliah rotated him by the shoulders, and Ziris blinked as she caught sight of his face for the first time.

All signs of age were gone, although his eyes were still dark, and as serious as they were now, just without the familiar scowl lines around the edges. He stared stonily at Karliah as the Dunmer fussed over a few dirt marks on his cheeks, and his thin layer of stubble.

"You couldn't have shaved, at least?" she asked him with a huff, and Mercer scowled.

Ziris couldn't help herself; she smiled.

"I just got back from a job in Markarth," Mercer grumbled to Karliah. "I didn't exactly have time."

"I know, I know," Karliah said apologetically. She took a step back. "I tried to ask Gallus to hold off for another day, but it's the 3rd of Hearth Fire, and he said it's today, or we have to wait another year." She leaned forward onto her toes, hands fluttering excitedly at her sides. "I didn't think you'd want to wait, and I surely don't." She reached forward, and tucked the collar of Mercer's tunic down under his leather armor. "There, now I think you're ready."

Just in time, too, apparently, for another figure appeared over the rise. Both Mercer and Karliah changed demeanors as whoever it was approached, and Ziris blinked when the person drew closer.

The Imperial was young, like Mercer and Karliah. He had dark hair like the Dunmer, and even from where Ziris stood some distance away, she could see the playful glint in his eyes. He had the same lopsided smile that Brynjolf always carried, the one that made her heart ache every time she saw it.

And, just like Brynjolf did on occasion, he pushed a hand through his raven black hair, and paused before the two thieves, holding himself easily.

"I see the two of you are ready," he commented, glancing over them both.

The two thieves nodded, Karliah more eagerly than Mercer. Ziris watched as Gallus, for who else could he be, grinned wider, and gestured with his hand.

"Follow me, then," he invited warmly. "We have quite a trek to make."

Karliah nodded eagerly again, and took the lead as the three of them headed away from Ziris, down the hill, following the stream. Ziris had to jog to keep up with them, falling into pace behind Mercer and Gallus, who remained behind Karliah a few steps.

"She's very excited," Gallus was noting as he watched the young Dunmer prance along ahead of them.

Mercer didn't respond, and Gallus glanced sideways at him. "Are you having second thoughts, my friend?"

"I wouldn't say that," Mercer gurmbled. "I just don't know how much to believe of what you've said. I've heard stories of the powers that Nocturnal can offer, but I've also heard stories of the things she can take away."

"Stories are exactly that, Mercer," Gallus told him.

"Nightingales are meant to be a story, too," Mercer said.

Gallus laughed, and Ziris's heart ached for an entirely different reason as she watched the three thieves disappear into the trees to the west of Riften, finding that she couldn't follow them beyond the line.

She turned around, and was surprised to find she was standing in the Ragged Flagon, now, instead of at the edge of the woods. She was standing near the bar, and someone who wasn't Vekel, but looked a lot like him, stood behind it.

"Gallus, did Mercer tell you what I did up in Windhelm?"

Ziris turned at the voice, and saw Gallus and Karliah were seated at the table that she and Delvin often used for their card games. Karliah was leaning on the edge of her chair, about three seconds away from being in Gallus's lap.

"He told me you were able to make two of the guards fight with one another," Gallus replied with a slight smile, his eyes glowing at he watched her.

"I did!" Karliah said gleefully. "And, while that was happening, Mercer was able to slip into the shadows and steal that urn with no problems at all."

"It's good to know that the two of you are working together with your abilities," Gallus told her, and Karliah nodded.

"I understand, now, why Nocturnal doesn't give one thief every possible skill that she can," she said. "I don't know how a thief would be able to concentrate on making two people fight one another, while still being able to turn into a shadow and disappear without a trace. It'd take a lot more concentration than any normal person has, that's for sure."

Gallus started to respond, but Ziris's attention was drawn instead by Mercer, who'd just appeared from the tunnel leading into the cistern, and was walking towards the table. The two thieves already there greeted him warmly, but other than that, they ignored him as he sat down across from them, returning to their own conversation.

Ziris didn't miss the way Mercer's eyes darkened, and she watched as he cracked open a bottle of ale without taking his eyes off of them. She took a small step backwards, feeling as though this was something she didn't want to see.

She turned around, again, and found herself standing in the courtyard behind the Temple of Mara instead. A quick glance around revealed Gallus and Mercer walking together nearby. Gallus was speaking lowly, and Ziris approached them so that she could hear what was being said.

"You've been at the Sepulcher quite a lot lately."

"I've been thinking about some things," Mercer replied. "Trying to clear my head."

"Hmm." From Gallus's tone, Ziris decided that he didn't believe Mercer one bit, and she followed the thieves into a shadowy corner of the courtyard, watching as Gallus pushed a hand through his hair. Mercer kept his gaze steadily on the Guild Master, even when Gallus looked up and met his eyes.

"Is everything all right, Mercer?" he asked, and Mercer nodded.

"Of course."

"I only ask because… because I know what you've been up to, at the Sepulcher." Ziris leaned forward, and frowned when Gallus's eyes hardened. "I've told you before not to touch the Key."

"I put it back," Mercer said shortly as a response, clearly dismissing what was meant to be a scolding. "Don't look at me like that, Gallus. I'd deserve it if I hadn't, but I did." He shrugged. "I only wanted to try it out."

"You do not want to deal with Nocturnal's wrath, Mercer," Gallus told him. "If she were to decide to punish you, punish us…" The Guild Master shook his head. "You promised to protect the Key, same as Karliah and I. If you were to move it again, or, Gods forbid, lose it, she would not be so quick to dismiss your actions. She might even wreak havoc on the Guild." Gallus fixed Mercer with a serious look. "That isn't something you want, is it?"

Mercer didn't even blink. "Of course not."

"Then why play with fire?" Gallus asked him. "Leave the key alone, and Nocturnal will in turn leave the Guild alone." He reached forward and rested his hand on Mercer's shoulder. "That's all I ask of you, my friend."

Ziris waited, watching Mercer's face. She saw nothing change as he dipped his head. "I'm sorry, Gallus," he said. "I was only curious, that's all. I won't touch the Key again."

Gallus's easy-going grin returned, any sign of anger or disappointment that had previously existed on his face evaporating.

"Good," he said. "That's all I wanted to hear. Besides, I'm sure Nocturnal will forgive your curiosity. It is an interesting thing, the Skeleton Key."

He shook Mercer's shoulder playfully, and gestured with his head. "Come," he invited. "Let's get back down to the cistern."

Mercer nodded, and then he and Ziris watched as Gallus headed for the hidden entrance ahead of him. Ziris's head was starting to ache, and she blinked as the vision before her began to disappear, and she could feel herself falling. A bright light flashed somewhere in the distance, and she struggled to clamber up through the darkness towards it.

As she swam through the shadows in its direction, she could faintly hear a dark cursing, and then the sound of a snapping branch. Then, Mercer's voice, speaking words that twisted something cold inside of her: "Damn the Guild, and damn them both."

"Fucking things…"

Ziris's eyes fluttered open, and she found herself looking up at Mercer, whose eyebrows were drawn together. He had candles in both hands, and his mouth seemed to be twisted in something similar to worry.

The worry faded, however, when a scowl took over as he realized she was awake.

"Sit up," he commanded, and Ziris did so, faintly aware that she was shaking like a leaf in wind. Mercer shoved one of the candles into her steadier hand, and wrapped first the blanket from her bed, and then the one from his around her.

Without saying anything else, he rubbed her shoulders roughly, until Ziris could feel her arms again. The candle she was gripping warmed her fingers and hands, and she exhaled, watching as her breath created a white cloud in the air before her mouth.

She watched it fade in amazement, and then she looked at Mercer in question.

His scowl was the darkest thing she'd ever seen. "You were covered in shadows," he growled under his breath, still rubbing feeling back into her limbs. He crouched down on the floor in front of her bed, and began to rub at her thighs instead, looking at her all the while. "They drew all the heat out of you. If you'd been stuck inside of them for another five minutes…"

"Shadows…?" Ziris was confused, and she imagined her face must have showed it, because Mercer let out a frustrated sigh.

"Yes. You know, the things that objects make when light hits them a certain way."

Ziris wasn't so out of it that she didn't have the sense not to roll her eyes. "I know what a shadow is, Mercer." She looked down at the candle, watching the flame flicker. "I just don't get what you were saying. They were… covering me?"

He nodded, moving his hands down to her calves. Ziris winced as he massaged them roughly, clearly wanting to get this part of his task over with as quickly as possible.

"You've got the fucking shadow-sense," he grumbled under his breath. "I can't believe I didn't realize it before."

"You know what it is?" she demanded, and he looked up at her, something unspoken glinting in his eyes.

"I don't understand it," he said after a moment, returning to his business of rubbing her legs. He moved down to her feet, and Ziris relaxed as feeling began to return to her toes. "You've never…" He trailed off, and shook his head in frustration.

"I've never what?" she asked him.

Mercer's hands went still again, and he glanced up at her after a moment. They stared at each other without saying anything, and then he huffed under his breath and looked back down. "I suppose it makes sense," he said. "You are one of the best damn thieves in Tamriel. It doesn't surprise me that they know you."

"The shadows?" He grunted by way of confirmation, and Ziris let out a breath. "Will they ever go away?"

"No," he replied after a moment.

"Do you see them?"

"Yes."

"... can Karliah?"

Mercer's hands left her feet entirely at this, and he turned his gaze to her face. Ziris stared back without speaking, and he slowly offered her a nod. "She can speak with them," he said darkly, "which makes me believe there is no way that she doesn't know we are coming."

He stood up and took the candle from her, setting it on top of the dresser. Then, he turned to face her again. "Stay here, and try to walk around a bit, get your blood flowing that way," he ordered. "I'll be right back."

Ziris did as he said, and as she waddled around the room on stiff legs, she thought about what she'd seen.

Obviously, Mercer hadn't appreciated how close Karliah and Gallus were, and, obviously, Mercer's actions with the 'Skeleton Key', whatever that was, were not approved of by Gallus, and that made Mercer angry.

But what does it all mean?

Mercer returned after a few minutes, with a cup of steaming something, and he pushed it in her direction. Ziris took it without arguing, and took a long drink. The ale settled happily in her belly, and she sank down on the edge of her bed with a relieved exhale.

They were silent as she finished off her cup, and, as she set it down on the dresser, Ziris glanced sideways at her mentor. Mercer was studying the floor of the inn, but he glanced up when her gaze settled on him.

"What?" he asked gruffly.

"She's not taking sides," Ziris said.

"Who?"

"Nocturnal."

Mercer's gaze darkened. "What do you know about Nocturnal?"

"Not much," Ziris said quickly. "I just…" She trailed off and debated telling him about Vanrus. After a moment, she decided against it, and she shrugged. "Delvin's mentioned her once or twice, that's all. I assumed that she's the one in charge of the shadows."

Mercer stared at her for a moment. "They're hers, yes," he said slowly, "but they're not her puppets. Shadows speak to whoever they want to, and, for some reason, they're speaking to both you and Karliah."

Ziris bit the inside of her cheek. "That's how Daedra work," she said. "They let things happen, and then they interfere whenever they want."

Mercer didn't seem to be listening. Instead, he was studying one of the corners of the room, where a shadow was cowering away from the light of the candles that he'd lit around the room.

"What?" Ziris asked him, and Mercer glanced back at her.

"Do they show you things?"

Ziris blinked, suddenly wary. She didn't want to tell him what she'd seen while she was asleep. "Y-yes," she said slowly. "Usually, though -"

"Usually?" Mercer's gaze hardened. "Has this happened before?"

"I hadn't seen anything before," Ziris said quickly. "When I was younger, though, they talked to me." She spared a look at him, and winced when she saw the expression on his face. "It didn't happen a lot, only when I was feeling lonely, or unsure of something."

"Karliah told me once that they would give her advice," Mercer said after a moment.

"Uhm…" Ziris tilted her head and scratched at the back of her neck. "I guess you could say they did that once or twice."

Mercer exhaled sharply, and gestured towards the shadows. "Do you think they'd show you something, or talk to you, if you were to ask them to?"

"I don't know," Ziris said with a shrug. "I've never tried." She frowned at him. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that we may be able to learn what Karliah is doing to prepare for our arrival," Mercer responded. He glanced between her and the shadows. "What would you need to do?"

Ziris slowly stood up, and approached the shadowy corner. It seemed to stretch out towards her slightly, despite the light in the room, and she stopped at its edge.

"I guess… I guess I can just… touch it…" She slowly reached out her hand, ready to place it in the darkness, but before she could, there was a sharp tug on her shoulder, pulling her backwards and around.

She looked up at Mercer in confusion, and frowned when she saw how hard his eyes were.

"Do not put yourself in danger if you can avoid it," he warned.

"That's the thing; I don't know if I can," Ziris said quietly. "Since when do you worry about my safety?"

Mercer, who still had one hand clenched on her shoulder, slowly released his grasp and took a step back.

"Do what you need to," he said lowly, "but I would like to avoid you turning blue, again."

Ziris nodded, noting he'd avoided answering her question. She turned back to the shadow, and inhaled before sliding her hand from the light into the darkness.

Immediately, a sharp bolt of ice shot up through her arm, and her vision went dark.

When she could see again, she found herself standing in a darkened corridor. She could only see faint outlines of sconces that were attached to the walls. She didn't know where she was, exactly, but she knew that she really didn't want to be there.

Her attention was drawn by a flickering light that came from one direction of the corridor. She turned that way, and frowned when she saw Karliah appear, holding a candle in one hand.

She carried it past where Ziris was standing, and leaned up on her toes to light the sconce. Immediately, the corridor filled with light, and Ziris jumped backwards when she found herself standing on top of what seemed to be a rib cage.

Karliah kept going down the corridor, and Ziris hurried after her, wanting to know where she was going. The Dunmer was clearly older than she had been in Ziris's first visions, for lines of age creased her forehead and the area around her eyes. She walked with a small gait as well, something Ziris hadn't noticed before. Had she suffered from an injury that caused it?

Karliah walked down the corridor until she reached a room that had gates on both sides of it. Ziris hesitated on the edge of the room when she saw all the bones that were strung up on the ceiling, to act as what Ziris was sure were alarms.

Karliah didn't seem to mind making noise, for she walked directly into the room, stepping gingerly over two shapes that were on the floor, to reach another sconce.

Ziris, curious about the things on the floor, carefully slid into the room, making sure to avoid the bone chimes hanging above her, even though she had a fairly good idea that she couldn't make them move, even she if she wanted to.

She stopped next to the form just as Karliah reached the sconce, and crouched down next to it. When the room filled with the soft light of the candle, however, Ziris fell backwards away from the shape.

It was a dead body, and it appeared to have been dead for a long time. In fact, it didn't even look like a person anymore.

What is that?

Before she could inspect further, however, the room went dark. Ziris blinked at the sudden lack of light, and she spun around, trying to find Karliah in the darkness.

She found herself suddenly rushing forward, into a different chamber. This one was lit with the soft glow of dawn through cracks in the rock ceiling, and was vacant of everything aside from a still body on the stone floor before her. Ziris hesitated a moment before taking a small step towards it, and she let out a gasp when she recognized the face on the body.

Gallus!

The Imperial had a very obvious wound on his side, and blood was trickling out of his mouth. He coughed, weakly, as he appeared to gaze up at her with lidded eyes. It wasn't until a moment later that she realized he wasn't looking at her, but someone who was standing behind her.

"Why?" he asked weakly, his eyes trained on whoever it was.

Ziris could see now that there were countless other slashes marring the front of his armor, aside from the single one on his side.

Karliah uses a bow, she thought, recalling her vision from before. Mercer told me that she didn't use a sword if she could avoid it. Why is Gallus cut up like this?

She prepared to turn, to see whoever it was behind her that Gallus was staring at, but before she could, the shadows dropped her from the chamber, and she landed with a sharp gasp on the floor of her room in Candlehearth Hall.

Breathing heavily, and shivering, she looked around for Mercer, and found him staring at her from where he sat on the edge of her bed.

"All right?" he asked gruffly, and she nodded vacantly, doing her best to stand.

After a moment of watching her struggle, Mercer rose and walked over to assist her. He then led her over to her bed, and sat her down, crouching down in front of her.

"What did you see?"

"She's setting traps, and alarms," Ziris said, wrapping her blanket tightly around her shoulders. "She definitely knows that we're coming." She winced, and described the dead body that she'd seen on the floor while Karliah was lighting the candles, and Mercer nodded to himself.

"Draugr," he said. "Not surprising, considering Snow Veil Sanctum is an ancient Nordic ruin. The thing you saw has probably been under there for hundreds of years, and was cursed by the old magic within its walls, which brought it back to life. Karliah must have killed it."

He gave Ziris a steady look. "We'll need to make sure we don't wake up anymore of them." She nodded, and he tilted his head. "Is that all?"

"I just know that she's strung up bone chimes, at the very least," Ziris responded. "I don't doubt that she's reactivating any traps that are already down there, and maybe creating some of her own."

"She'd be stupid not to," Mercer agreed, "and Karliah is far from stupid." He seemed to consider something for a moment, and then he nodded. "Fine. We'll just have to be extremely cautious."

"Good thing we're used to that," Ziris mumbled, suddenly feeling very tired.

Mercer glanced at her, and sighed. "Get some rest," he advised, standing and going to light another candle. He moved this one to the foot of her bed, and set it on the table there. "You should be all right for the rest of the evening."

"Thank you," Ziris said quietly, scooting up on her bed. She laid down, and Mercer tugged his own blanket out from under her, then returned to his bed.

Ziris was asleep before he could lay back down, her dreams filled with reflections of what the shadows had shown her.

So that was pretty good, right? I think so.

Keep an eye out for another one of those one-shot thingermabobs. This one takes place around the same time as this chapter, so it'll be an interesting read.

Check it out when you find the time.