"Her pulse is still weak. I don't know what else to do."
Aeyrin sighed as she once again let her hand slide back from Karliah's throat.
When Bishop noticed Karliah's limp body in the snow, both of them quickly made their way across the river, using convenient stepping stones, and to the other bank. Despite the exhaustion, once more they sprang into action and pushed themselves to find out what happened to her.
She was lying in the snow with her eyes closed and a gash across her throat. She looked dead.
But she wasn't.
There was not nearly enough blood on the snow for her to have bled out and she still had a pulse, although a very weak one. Aeyrin didn't hesitate to use her remaining energy to heal the gash and, upon further inspection, they noticed that her leather armor was soaked around her stomach as well. They uncovered her skin enough to see the wound and Aeyrin promptly got to work on that as well. It wasn't perfect. She needed a break, but she at least closed the wound a little. Karliah should have been safe. She should have been fine. She didn't lose too much blood and her wounds weren't even gushing as much as they should have been. Why was her heartbeat so weak?
Their next guess was the cold, even though she didn't look frostbitten. But they were certainly both freezing as well, still soaked to the bone and covered in snow. They all needed to hide away somewhere to recuperate and try to help Karliah some more.
Luckily the hideout of the Altmer thieves was close and the place was perfect.
Bishop took Karliah in his arms with palpable effort, but they had to hold on just a little longer. Just a bit more effort and they would finally be safe and able to rest.
The hideout was fortunately still empty and they could finally set up somewhere properly. They carefully stripped the unconscious Karliah of her armor, soaked by the snow and blood, and they put her in a bed nearest to the fireplace so that she could thaw out under the thick fur blankets. Aeyrin had been monitoring her life signs periodically, but not much had changed the entire time.
"You've done all you could, ladyship. She'll recover," Bishop gave her a small smile. Karliah's wounds had been completely healed by now, she was just still… unresponsive. "We've both gotten out of worse states, right?"
Aeyrin nodded at him absentmindedly. That was true. Bishop had been much worse off after the ambush in the safehouse and he had recovered fully. She herself had definitely got out of worse too, like after the vampire bites near Solitude or after Thorn.
Karliah didn't bleed out nearly as much. Although… that was strange. Her neck wound should have been lethal. How come there was so little blood? There wasn't even any trail of it behind her so she couldn't have bled out someplace else.
But there was nothing more that Aeyrin could do for her now. So, after another dejected sigh, she moved over towards Bishop by the fireplace.
He had been inspecting the contents of his pack right then. They've already both gotten out of their armors and washed them and had them drying by the fireplace along with their clothes. Bishop only grabbed the trousers that he usually wore for sleeping – those were the first thing he dragged from his pack and dried by the flames while he was taking a bath – and Aeyrin did the same with his old shirt that now belonged to her. The rest of their clothes were all drying in the bathing chambers, but there were still their remaining belongings to go through. Their packs were soaked through and through.
She grabbed her pack as well and began to inspect the damage.
Potions and equipment were all fine, of course, just wet. She was much more anxious about her books and letters. And she was right to be. She quickly began to open a few of her letters from Master Therien, careful not to tear them in the process, but most of them were beyond recovery. The ink was smudged everywhere and the paper was like a drenched washcloth. There was no saving her old Mentor's words.
With a deep sigh, she took her book on dragon language instead. The letters were a lost cause, as was clearly her journal and map, but the book was printed on a press. She really hoped that it survived.
She opened the book on a random page tentatively. The pages were stuck together in various places and water was actually dripping from them, but the print survived. There was some smudge here and there, but it was legible at least. She let out a relieved sigh and quickly moved to inspect her books about Talos.
In the meantime, Bishop looked at his royal pardon from Elisif critically. It was sort of legible? Maybe? He was pretty fucking sure that this wouldn't stand in front of any guard or court. Although the insignias were fine. Fuck, would he need to ask for it again, just in case? Elisif would probably be alright with it, but still… that was annoying. And it was even more annoying that it made him wonder about another important document, hidden safely in his armor's secret pocket.
Well… not safely. It was drenched now too without a doubt. What was he thinking? He really needed to find a hiding place for that deed. Maybe he could actually leave it in the cottage somewhere, between the floorboards or something so that no one would steal it before he could secure the place properly.
If it even survived, of course.
He checked the rest of the papers in his pack for now. First his hand landed on an old crumpled bounty notice with Thorn's distorted and smudged face on it. Fuck, why did he still have this thing? He promptly threw the notice into the fire nearby, eager to get rid of it. The next paper he found could only have been the bounty on Aeyrin, but that one was completely ruined. At least that one used to have Aeyrin's face on it and not that freak's mug. But he didn't need that anyway. He had the real one by his side after all. Nothing could compare to that.
There was one more crumpled paper in his pack and he curiously unfolded it. He didn't know what that one was.
Fuck. He almost forgot again about this shit. It made him flinch the second he saw it.
Of course this fucking thing would survive the water. That black handprint with the words 'We know' written below it still stared back at him menacingly.
Fucking thing.
With a disgruntled scoff, Bishop promptly threw this note into the fire too. It wouldn't change anything, but he didn't want to keep finding that shit among his belongings.
When he was done, he promptly got up to check on his armor in the other room and the treasures hidden inside. Aeyrin was still preoccupied with her books and ruined letters and she didn't even seem to notice that he had left.
When he reached the bathing room, he carefully slid his hand into the hidden pocket. The armor was a bit drier than his pack and so was the paper there, but that still didn't ensure that it would be legible.
Huh. It was actually pretty well preserved. The writing was printed on it, probably because there needed to be copies of this. The Jarl's signature was a bit smudged, but hopefully that wouldn't be that big of a deal. If anyone gave him trouble, he still had Maven's word to rely on. Although he really hated relying on that. He still couldn't shake the feeling that one day she would find out about what actually happened to Sibbi.
He stashed the paper back into the pocket after that. It wouldn't dry out as effectively like that, but he didn't want Aeyrin to accidentally see it.
And on that note…
He took out the engagement ring from the pocket after and inspected it carefully. There were no dents or scratches on it, thank the fucking Gods. It was just as pretty as ever.
He got lost for a moment in watching the glittering black onyx shine in the firelight. He still hadn't asked her. He still wasn't sure when and how to do it. A stray thought hit him like every other day, prodding on him, urging him to act. Whenever they were together, content and satisfied in bed. Whenever she was all cute and freezing before he warmed her in his embrace. None of it felt particularly special, and yet everything did. He still couldn't decide if he should plan something elaborate or if a perfectly mundane day was even more perfect. He could have done it at the ball, probably, but neither him nor Aeyrin would want the audience and everything that came with it. That thought hadn't even occurred to him back then – that was just how wrong it felt for the two of them to get engaged at an event like that. But now, he was wondering when there would be a 'special place'? When, when their life was fraught with dangers, ancient Dwemer ruins, raging sea storms with dragons and barrows full of undead?
He continued to watch the light playing on the pitch-black gem for a few more seconds before Aeyrin's voice interrupted him suddenly.
"What are you doing down there?"
Fuck he didn't even hear her approach. Luckily his back was to her as he crouched by his armor and the ring couldn't be visible that way. He quickly made a fist and clutched it inside to hide it, though he was very careful not to clench too hard.
"Just checking the armor and clothes," he quickly thought of an excuse. "It will take a couple more hours for all of this to dry. At least."
"Well… yeah," Aeyrin snorted in response. Yes, it was a bit obvious even without checking. They already knew that after all, but he didn't know what else to say. Though he noticed there was a little bit of a sad tone in her voice. It was an opportunity to steer the conversation away from this.
"What's wrong?" he turned his head back to look at her but he still stayed crouched down above his armor.
"Nothing…" Aeyrin sighed, but that was clearly not the case. "I don't know… just stupidly sad about the letters," she sighed. She knew it was silly, but she often liked reading them again, especially when she was having a hard time. Master Therien wasn't here to give her advice or listen to her right when she needed it, but the letters were comforting. A little piece of him at least. And they weren't the only ones. The letters that Bishop had sent her during their separation were a comfort too now, a much more prominent one when the two of them were happily together again.
"You'll get new ones soon," Bishop gave her a sympathetic smile.
"Yeah," she smiled a bit too, but it wasn't very convincing. She leaned on the doorframe briefly, possibly to talk more, before an involuntary yawn of her own interrupted her. "Come to bed, Bish. I need to keep at least a little alert, but I just wanna lie down for a bit." She didn't add the fact that she only wanted to lie down with him and comfort herself in his arms a bit after today's ordeal. It must have been obvious anyway.
"I'll be there in a minute," he answered promptly. Fortunately, Aeyrin turned on her heel at that and headed back into the bedroom.
He didn't want her to see that he was hiding something in that armor. And this was definitely not the moment when she should find out what exactly it was.
One day, there would actually be a good time to do this.
…
The delicious smell of spiced rabbit meat carried through the room languidly as Bishop prepared some proper food for the three of them.
Karliah's condition had improved considerably. Her heart rate had almost returned to normal and some color was definitely back in her cheeks. She was no longer cold or still. Now she looked more like she was asleep. She even moved a bit from time to time.
It was good to see. They didn't have much rest after their ordeal. Aeyrin needed to keep somewhat awake to keep an eye on Karliah's condition and Bishop always woke up as well whenever she started to move about.
After around three hours of that routine, Bishop decided to get up properly and cook something for them instead. It was enough just then to spend some time in relative peace, even though they didn't get any sleep. It was a good opportunity to rest their sore and tired bodies either way.
Although there were still so many things preventing them from truly relaxing.
Their number one concern after Karliah's well-being was of course Mercer. He had gotten away with his treasure and undoubtedly attempted to murder Karliah. Maybe she tried to stop him. And there was no telling what he would do next.
Their plan had failed. The wealth that they were about to wield as their trump card was now in Frey's hands and he was surely going to use it to unite the Guild under him again. For starters at least.
A lot of their work would likely be undone. They needed a new plan.
They needed Karliah to think of something. She was sure to have a contingency plan.
Luckily, only a few more minutes passed before Karliah began to squirm on the bed. Aeyrin quickly approached to check her pulse, but by now, it had been completely regular. For a person riling themselves up from sleep, that is.
"Hmm… what? W-where…" Karliah began to mumble in confusion as her eyes fluttered open. She took a deep breath afterwards, as if she was inhaling exaggeratedly to recognize the smell in the room.
"Easy. You're alright," Aeyrin gently placed her hand on the Dunmer's shoulder.
Karliah blinked a few times before her violet eyes fastened on Aeyrin at last. She quickly shook off the hand on her shoulder and sat up abruptly in the bed.
"You… you're alive. Both of you," her lips quirked into a smile of relief in a second. "I was worried. But… you got out. And you found me."
"Didn't really look good for you there either," Bishop nodded at her somberly.
"Yes. What happened?" Aeyrin gaped at her. "Your wounds should have…"
"Killed me?" Karliah finished the sentence for her. "Aye. A last resort. I saw Mercer emerge from the lift and I chased him down, but… he got the better of me. When he stabbed me, I poisoned myself. It's a poison to slow down the heartbeat, just for situations like this. It prevented me from bleeding out when he… he did slit my throat, didn't he?" she absentmindedly touched her neck. It had been all healed now of course.
"He did," Aeyrin nodded in response. "I healed your wounds but we weren't sure why you were so… why your pulse was so weak with the little blood you lost. So we brought you here, someplace warm to recover."
"Where are we?" Karliah scowled as she looked around the room. There wasn't much there that would give her any hint.
"The bandit hideout. Those… Summerset Shadows or whatever," Bishop smirked at her.
"Ah. Clever choice," Karliah nodded. She kept silent for a while as she clearly pondered on something deeply before she finally noticed the setup they had going on – countless items on the ground, scattered around the fire on which Bishop was currently cooking. Then her eyes stopped to inspect each of them in their various stages of undress due to their clothes still being a bit wet. Bishop was only wearing trousers and Aeyrin in turn only had his large shirt on – the bare minimum of their wet clothes that they wore to at least remain decent for when Karliah woke up.
"What… happened?" Karliah scowled again.
"What do you think?" Bishop scoffed. "Frey happened. Nearly fucking drowned us in those ruins."
"'Drowned'?" Karliah tilted her head in confusion.
She could probably use some explanations.
…
"So blind. For so long," Karliah mumbled to herself, deep in thought. "He will stop at nothing to escape."
"'Escape'?" Bishop raised his brow at her. What would Mercer be escaping from? He would have everything in his hands firmly now.
Karliah looked like she had completely forgotten that she wasn't alone. They had just finished telling her what happened in the ruins. Suffice it to say, she was more than disturbed that she had fallen for Mercer's trick.
"Ah," Karliah's eyes finally focused and she looked at Bishop in surprise, as if she had just realized that he was still there. That they both were. She had been lost in her own ruminations probably ever since she awoke. "Escape… justice."
There was a moment of somber silence before, suddenly, Karliah got off the bed with a resolute look in her eyes.
"We need to go," she nodded at the two of them with sudden determination.
"'Go'? Go where? We still need to recover and eat. And all our stuff is wet," Aeyrin gave her a weak smile. She understood that Karliah was eager to get into her plans already, but they weren't ready to go anywhere yet.
"There's no time for any of that," she scowled. "We need to stop Mercer."
"He's not gonna find a buyer for those things right this minute," Bishop scoffed with a hint of amusement. What has gotten into her so suddenly? Surely they had time to recuperate. The important thing was to figure out what the next step would be. He already had some ideas on that. "He won't take the Eyes into the Guild. He wouldn't risk that," he pondered out loud. "He will probably keep them in his mansion. We could break in again and…"
"No." Karliah interrupted him suddenly, eliciting a surprised look from both Bishop and Aeyrin. "We're not doing that. It's too risky. There's too much assumption involved. We cannot take any risks anymore. We need to act now and we need to make it final."
"What are you saying?" Aeyrin scowled at her. It sounded like she had a plan, but… it didn't sound good.
"We need to go to Riften," Karliah gave them an intense look. "And once we get there, Mercer needs to die. He needs to die right now. Before he can es-... Before he can sell the Eyes."
The room turned eerily silent at her words as Aeyrin and Bishop stared at her in surprise.
Why were they surprised? This was their ultimate goal, wasn't it? This was what they needed to do. Mercer just tried to kill all three of them. They needed to do something about that maniac as soon as possible.
But why did that feel strange all of the sudden? They hadn't expected this. Not from Karliah. They expected a careful plan. A heist to take back the Eyes. Or perhaps a way to lure Mercer somewhere. But this? If they could do this, what were all these months for? What was all the suffering, all those bounties and missions for? There were reasons why they didn't do this.
"W-what about the Guild?" Aeyrin's brows creased in uncertainty. Karliah had agreed to avoid slaughter. She knew that the people at the Guild didn't want him dead. She knew that marching there to kill him in front of everyone would get a lot of people caught in the midst of this killed too.
"It's unfortunate. I… I don't make this decision lightly," Karliah sighed.
"What? No," Bishop shook his head at her incredulously. Nobody wanted Mercer dead more than he did. But if Karliah did that now, who knew if the entire Guild wouldn't turn on them? Bishop didn't want to slaughter them all. Some of the people there… they didn't deserve this shit. Besides, what the fuck would this solve? If they turned every one of Mercer's remaining allies against them this aggressively, it would never solve their problem. Karliah wanted to take over the Guild willingly not… usurp it, right? That wouldn't help anything in the long run. Just more enemies at their backs. "We can't just march in there and kill him. You know this. You're the one who's been saying this from the start."
"The circumstances changed," Karliah scowled. "Him having the Eyes is more dangerous."
"You didn't count on this?" Bishop scoffed. "Fuck, you don't have a thousand plans already on what to do if he got hold of the Eyes? He was after them for over a fucking decade! And now you make snap decisions?"
"I didn't know," Karliah growled hatefully. Each second, it seemed like her usual calm composure was crumbling and there was only seething anger in her eyes.
"'Didn't know' what?" Aeyrin looked at her worriedly. The change in tune didn't make any sense. Karliah had always been so careful not to drag any of the thieves into this conflict openly. Aeyrin really hated the idea of assaulting their base like this. She didn't really know any of them, but… this felt wrong. As much as that bastard deserved to die, he shouldn't take down others with him.
Maybe the Guild members would stand with them. But… that was a big 'maybe'.
"I…" Karliah stopped herself abruptly and she only shook her head. She gave them another fiercely determined look after that. "Can you imagine what happens now? He will buy everyone's loyalty at the Guild. He will buy more bandits, as vicious as Thorn by the scores. He will hire the Dark Brotherhood to hunt us all down. Believe me, those people never give up on a contract."
Bishop instinctively shuddered at her words. Fuck, the Brotherhood still just wanted him to join or whatever the fuck they wanted. He didn't want to imagine what it would be like to actually have a contract on him. And Aeyrin. Fuck, he couldn't let her go through that. He couldn't let himself go through that.
Maybe she had a point.
Maybe it was for the best. No matter the casualties. As long as it wasn't him or Aeyrin.
"But he thinks we're all dead," Aeyrin tried to desperately talk some sense into Karliah. This didn't sit right with her at all. But… she knew that Mercer was capable of horrible things.
"For how long?" Karliah scowled again. "And does he even? You said he had the ruins watched so that he could come running and follow you in there. Who says he doesn't have the area watched still? His people could have seen you. Seen me. We need to act quickly. And… and I need you there with me. If… if things turn ugly."
Bishop and Aeyrin shared an uncertain look. She was making valid points. They were in a lot of danger from a vengeful Mercer with a fortune at his disposal. They almost died by his schemes only a few hours ago. And he barely had anything but his own plans to help him then. Now he had so much money that he could probably buy an army to sick at them.
Everything about this felt wrong. But they understood the urgency. What else was there to do? Karliah was right. The risks were too high.
She was always looking out for her people, right? She knew what was for the best.
"Raven is coordinating some operations in Shor's Stone," Karliah nodded at them when they didn't answer. She probably considered that to be their consent. "We will pick him up on the way. He… he will want to be there for this," she scowled briefly before she continued. "I know that you were hoping for more rest, but we cannot take the risk. Please, take an hour to eat and get ready. We will head out then."
Aeyrin and Bishop only nodded absentmindedly. All of this still felt so strange and unsettling, but it was the right thing to do. They knew that. They just had to do whatever they could to prevent the slaughter, but there was no other way. Mercer was too big of a threat.
"Did you by any chance get my armor and weapons or did Mercer…?" Karliah asked worriedly. She likely thought that he had looted her 'corpse', but he was probably too busy making his escape.
"It's in the other room," Aeyrin pointed towards the bathing room.
"Thank you," Karliah nodded, but when she saw their expressions, still blank and uncertain, she let out a deep sigh and continued to speak. "I know that… this is not what was supposed to happen. Not what we agreed on, especially with the contacts in the Guild. But… desperate times call for desperate measures. We cannot allow Mercer to live any longer. We cannot… we cannot let him take more from us."
"We get it," Bishop only nodded at her curtly. He knew that Mercer had to be dealt with, but… this scenario had never gone that well for him – taking down a tyrant in front of his loyal subjects was always a bad idea. Whether it was Torban or Thorn, it just forced him to run from the enemies he created by the act. He didn't want to run anymore. This wasn't how this was supposed to go. This was supposed to be different.
He had been imagining his life with Aeyrin for a while now, in that cottage near Riften. How could it ever come to be if they were about to turn the Guild outside their doorstep against them again? He always hoped that things would be resolved in a good way eventually when Karliah's plans bore fruit. This didn't feel like it.
But maybe he was overthinking this. Maybe the Guild members would help them. Maybe it would all turn out better than he feared.
There was no point in speculating.
They've run out of alternatives.