"Tell me, has either of you ever heard of the order of Nightingales?"
Karliah's voice, slightly muffled by the black mask, still echoed through the empty halls as the three of them continued marching through the corridor.
Brynjolf and Bishop still knew nothing about what was to come, but she promised gifts and explanations. There was nothing wrong with that.
"No," Bishop shrugged. He had never heard of anything like that.
"Aye," Brynjolf nodded, much to Bishop's surprise. Didn't Karliah say that it was some obscure ancient order? How did he know it?
"You have?" Karliah sounded just as surprised. "What did you hear?"
"Not much," Brynjolf shrugged. "Some old legends – master thieves, capable of anything, that sort of stuff. The stories said that they could steal the most guarded artifacts on Nirn."
"Aye," Karliah chuckled a bit. "All that with just a little bit of luck and skill."
They continued through the hall silently for a few more seconds before she stopped them all in front of another chamber – it was very dark inside, but they could still make out the outline of a circular platform there.
"These halls belong to the order of the Nightingales," she spoke again with that reverent tone in her voice. "Thieves of legend, shrouded by the darkness. There were always three, chosen ones, the Trinity, to carry the title, but there were other disciples training here under their tutelage, ready to take up the mantle should one of them fall."
"'Disciples'?" Bishop scowled briefly. Maybe he was overthinking her words, but he really disliked all this talk of 'orders' and 'disciples'. It only made him think of all the fucking zealots he knew throughout his life, starting with his family.
"Come," instead of answering, Karliah gestured to them and stepped inside the shadowy chamber.
They followed, expectant, walking across the platform towards the center. There were three adjacent circular platforms there and, in the middle of the central one, there was that symbol again – the large bird with its wings spread.
"I want to restore the order to its former glory. To pass on the techniques and blessings of the Nightingales," Karliah's voice reverberated through the room. "Blessings of… my order. I… I have been a Nightingale for a long time. As was Gallus. And… Mercer," she let out a mournful sigh.
"What does that even mean?" Bishop shook his head at her in confusion. He still didn't really get it. This was about some thieving techniques, right? Why was she being so weird about this, couldn't she just give them the shiny armor and teach them what she wanted?
"It means that… it means that they were given the honor of reaping the benefits, but… Mercer did not follow our code, did not uphold our values. I have chosen you because I know that you will. The Trinity needs to be restored again and the order needs to prevail."
"Lass," Brynjolf sighed. "We have our own code, our own values. If you have techniques to teach us, then do, but what is all this? Why the performance?"
"There are simply some rituals that need to be upheld. Oaths," Karliah said that so matter-of-factly, but it only served to unnerve Bishop more.
"'Oaths'? Why would we need to swear some oaths to you? Just for some armor and whatever else?" he scowled at her. This was just getting weirder by the second.
"Not just… no," Karliah shook her head. "Think about what you need. The knowledge and skills of the Nightingales protect us, give us an edge. How many times have you almost got killed because of a misstep, because of a broken lockpick at the wrong time or because of a change in plans that threw you off? Being a Nightingale or being a disciple, it gives us… luck. It gives us a chance. Against all of this. It will protect you. It will protect the Guild," she turned her head towards Brynjolf meaningfully before she looked at Bishop instead. "It will protect everything and everyone you care about."
"'Luck'?" Brynjolf scoffed at her. "Lass, are you pulling our leg here?"
"Not at all, Brynjolf," she explained. "All I want is to help. All I want is for none of us to have to suffer the same losses we already had in our lives. And this can help."
"'This' what?" Bishop growled. He was starting to get really frustrated by her vagueness. "This doesn't fucking sound like some thieving shit. It sounds like… some weird magic." And even magic didn't exactly affect luck. What the fuck was she even talking about?
"Aye, perhaps it is, in a way," Karliah nodded. "It is a blessing. One that will protect us all."
"A blessing from what?" Bishop prodded further. "From who?" He didn't like where this was going. She promised explanations, but she sounded more like she was selling something – always avoiding answers and giving empty promises.
"From… from the Mistress."
"What?" Brynjolf beat Bishop to the punch with that question. "'Mistress'? You work for someone else?"
"No," Karliah's voice turned very quiet. "I do not work. I worship, I serve. And in exchange, I am protected by her."
"By who?!" Bishop snapped at her. This didn't sound right. He had heard Karliah mention some 'Mistress' a lot of times, but he thought she was just saying that. Like 'fucking Void' and stuff like that. He never thought that there was an actual Mistress but he really didn't like where this was going.
"Nocturnal. The patron of thieves."
"What?!" Bishop and Brynjolf exclaimed simultaneously and Karliah took a startled step back, but she did look like she had been expecting that reaction regardless. How could she not? What the fuck? Was she serious?
"You want us to swear an oath to a fucking Daedric Prince?!" Bishop snarled at her angrily. What was she thinking?! This was fucking insane!
"It is not a bad thing," Karliah huffed defensively. "She protects us, watches over us. She brings us wealth and prosperity and… safety."
"Nothing comes for free, lass," Brynjolf growled at her. He sounded pretty angry himself.
"I wasn't willing to serve Thorn, or Mercer," Bishop continued to seethe. This really pissed him off. How could she think that he would agree to this? "And you think I would serve a fucking Daedric Prince instead?!"
"Bishop, if you could just… forget the prejudice for a second. I know that Aeyrin probably fed you what her temple…"
"This isn't about Aeyrin!" he snapped at her instantly, interrupting that trail of thought. He didn't even think about what Aeyrin would think of all this. He didn't want to think about that. But he hated that idea just as much as she would. "I'm not about to swear my fucking soul to that thing!"
"Aye, lass," Brynjolf scowled. "I've had my share of serving tyrants."
"The Mistress is not a tyrant!" Karliah raised her voice as well. Now she sounded really defensive. "She is a benevolent Mistress, protecting us."
"That's what they all say," Brynjolf scoffed.
"Please, just listen," Karliah sighed. "I know that you have experienced plenty of loss in your life. I have too. But with her blessings, we can…"
"I don't want her fucking blessings!" Bishop interrupted her again. He could barely believe what he was hearing. How could she be… one of them? How could someone so smart not see what has gotten hold of her. She sounded like his mother during her worst religious ravings.
"I… the Mistress can show you what I mean, she can make you understand. Let me just summon her and…"
"No!" Bishop and Brynjolf stopped her speech instantly. Not a fucking chance in Oblivion they would let her do that!
A sound of scraping metal suddenly echoed through the dark chamber and the next thing Bishop noticed was a subtle shine at his side. A second later, he could see it – the blade pointed at Karliah, held by Brynjolf.
"There will be no summoning, lass," his tone turned… dark.
There was a tense moment of silence. Nobody said a word for what felt like a long time until the dead of silence finally got interrupted by Brynjolf.
"Why did you kill Mercer?"
"He… he had done horrible things to…"
"Why did you kill Mercer now?!" Brynjolf yelled. It was so uncharacteristic of him, but Bishop could hardly blame him.
"He… he swore an oath," Karliah answered quietly. Bishop couldn't really see where Brynjolf's dagger was, but he was pretty sure it was still pointed at her. "He was sworn to serve in his death but… but with the money for the Eyes, he… he said that he found some mages that could… break his bond."
That was fucking it? Mercer's servitude to this fucking thing? It wasn't about the Brotherhood or about the Guild? It was about her fucking 'Mistress'?!
"You made us slaughter each other because of this?!" Brynjolf yelled again, furious.
"It's not that simple!" Karliah defended herself. "You don't understand. If I allowed that, if I let him break the bond, she would… she would not forgive me. She would never allow me to see my Gallus again!"
"What? Your 'benevolent' Mistress would punish you?! Imagine that!" Brynjolf spat angrily.
"Just… try to understand!" Karliah was sounding more and more desperate and erratic. Bishop had never seen her like that. It was… disturbing. "Just try to imagine, the one person you care about, you love, more than anything, taken from you by someone so… vicious. And then that same person tried to keep you from ever seeing them again! I couldn't let him do that!"
Bishop felt a shiver run down his spine at her words. Fuck… he kind of felt bad for her. He didn't want to feel bad for her. He was fucking angry and… hurt. And he felt so fucking stupid for not seeing this sooner. But just imagining himself in her position made his chest tighten. He knew that he would do anything to see Aeyrin again if something ever happened to her. He knew that he would have done the same thing in her place. But he wouldn't sell his fucking soul to this thing! Ever! And he would sure as the fucking Void never try to convince Aeyrin to join in this insanity! What the fuck was wrong with her? How could she let that monster brainwash her like this?!
"Why did you swear yourself to this?" his voice came out quiet, but the incredulous tone was hard to hide.
"I have lost everyone I have ever cared about," Karliah said mournfully. "And Nocturnal helped me. She made sure I would never lose anyone again if I didn't fail her. But… but I did. I chose Mercer and… I broke her trust when… when I didn't manage to stop Mercer from stealing the Key. That's why she allowed Gallus to die."
"She didn't 'allow' him to die!" Brynjolf growled. "Mercer killed him! Or was that a lie too?!"
"No!" Karliah shook her head vehemently. "But… she would have prevented it. She would have protected him!"
"You're fucking delusional, lass!" Brynjolf scoffed at her. "And you want to bind us to that same monster that you claim let your lover die?! You want to put us through the same thing?!"
"I just want to help you! I want to spare you of the pain of losing more than you already have!" Karliah shook her head desperately.
"No. You just want to please that Mistress of yours," Brynjolf sighed. "Lass, enough. You have done enough." There was that glint of his weapon again, but this time it looked like he actually put it down. "We will leave. You can stay here, or whatever you want, I don't care. But you will stay away from the Guild."
"I… I can't do that Brynjolf. I can't," her voice cracked a bit. "I need to restore the Trinity. If you will not, there are those that…"
"I will not let you manipulate my people into this!" he screamed.
"It's not manipulation! I can offer them security, prosperity. I can offer them so much! The mistress will protect them."
"I will protect them! And I will protect them from you."
There it was again – the blade. This time Bishop saw as it went towards Karliah's throat and he let out an involuntary gasp of surprise. Fuck, this was so fucking confusing. He didn't want her to die! Probably. He understood why Brynjolf did. Everything she was saying was disturbing and worrying. And she insisted on dragging more people into this shit! But fuck! He… he considered her a friend, kind of. He… trusted her.
Why the fuck was she doing this?! Why wouldn't she just leave?
That… was probably a stupid question. It was all for Gallus. And he understood that. Fuck, how he hated that he understood that.
"Brynjolf, please." Karliah's voice was palpably shaking now. "Please, I just want to see him again."
Fuck, that was heart-wrenching.
"I can't let you do this. I can't let you do this to my people, to my family!" Brynjolf yelled at her again angrily, but even he seemed conflicted.
There was a long tense moment of silence, but nobody acted. And it felt like an eternity before the quiet was broken again.
"I have to… I…" she almost sounded choked up. "Bishop… please, you understand, don't you? You would have the same in my place. For her."
That just made him angry. She used his feelings for Aeyrin as leverage for her schemes. She tried to use it to convince him to join her fucking cult too! She gained his trust, she learned what he cared about the most and then she abused it. He knew his fair share of betrayal, but the only time it hurt worse was when he thought that Jules had betrayed him.
"Lad…" Brynjolf's surprisingly gentle voice tore him from his thoughts. He barely even noticed how long he had been silent. "Are you going to stop me?"
That was the question, wasn't it? Was he? Should he?
He didn't know what to do. Ordinarily, he wouldn't care about what happened to the Guild members, who she would manipulate. Maybe just a few years ago he wouldn't give a shit. He wasn't sure why he did now, but the thought made him sick. Even if he could just take Aeyrin and leave the Guild to their troubles forever. But everything came rushing back to him. He couldn't stop thinking about how shitty it was to see his mother try to spew the same shit, to brainwash her children. He couldn't stop thinking about how hurt he was that Karliah hid this so deliberately. How angry he was that she assumed she could use Aeyrin against him like this.
He didn't want this.
But he didn't know what else to do.
His throat felt closed up and he couldn't speak.
But he did shake his head.
"Wait!" Karliah called out quickly. She must have seen the shake of his head even through the darkness. "Please, just wait. I… I know I made a mistake now. I… when I thought that Mercer could free himself from the oath I… I didn't know what else to do. And then you kept demanding explanations. I… I guess I panicked. It was a mistake. I didn't get to explain properly. Just give me a chance, I promise, you will see what I mean. I shouldn't have taken you here now, I should have just told you more about the Mistress so that you could see…"
"Enough, lass!" Brynjolf growled at her. "That's your regret? That you didn't get the chance to brainwash us more? That Mercer wanting his soul back made you rush?" he scoffed.
"Brynjolf, please, you just don't understand. She can help you with anything you wish. Riches, skill, protection. Please, let us just leave and we can talk about this more," Karliah pleaded with him further. Could she even hear herself?
"You just don't stop, do you?" Brynjolf sighed, still holding the blade to her neck. "You will never stop. You never stopped hounding Mercer and you will never stop now, even if I force you to stay away. You'll try to get to my people in secret."
"Brynjolf, you're keeping them from something that can make them safe and protected," Karliah shook her head at him.
"No. I'm the one keeping them safe, lass. And I don't see any other way to continue doing this," Brynjolf sighed regretfully.
"W-wait… I…"
Bishop could see Karliah shake her head in the darkness, but it was followed by a brief hiss of pain, as if the motion made her cut herself on Brynjolf's blade a bit. It… may have been a clear message. She stayed silent after that.
There was no sound in the chamber again and the moment stretched unbearably long. Bishop's eyes remained fixed on Karliah. He still felt like he couldn't process all of this. He just watched her as she tilted her head subtly – a gesture he had seen many times before. Despite the mask, he knew that her expression was deep, pondering, as hundreds of choices and scenarios were running through her mind. Unlike the many times before he had seen this though, right now, her whole body was shaking in tension and fear. There was no more of her usual composed calmness.
It felt like so long before Karliah broke the silence at last.
"I… Fine. I… I have no choice but to accept this," she spoke quietly, her voice trembling. "You… you are right. I wouldn't stop. I could never stop. I could never fail her again. Now it appears, I won't have the chance to even try to make things right myself. But, please, I'm begging you, I have to do everything I can to see him again."
Brynjolf waited. There was silence again, but Karliah quickly continued with a pleading voice.
"She could… maybe she could forgive me if… if I made sure that my mistakes were made right again. Please, I need you to do one last mission for me. For everything we have been through, I need one last favor to make things right."
Bishop nodded. He wasn't sure if she could see it, but he didn't even think before answering. That was disturbing. He should be fucking questioning everything from her now!
"The Key. There is a place, the Twilight Sepulcher. It is the vault to hold the Key. Nocturnal only lets her trusted Nightingales use it when they prove themselves. But now, with all of us gone, it needs to be returned. Please, promise me that you will return it. I need to make sure that her artifact will be returned to her."
Bishop and Brynjolf looked at each other, even though they could barely see anything in the shadows, let alone their expressions below the masks. Still, it felt like they communicated regardless.
At least Bishop thought as much. Despite everything, despite the betrayal, he wanted to do this for her. He wanted her to be with Gallus again. Maybe because he sympathized with this desperation so much. Or maybe because he just wanted all of this to be… worth it. Some good should come from this fucking mess.
"Aye," Brynjolf sighed. "I don't think it should remain with the Guild anyway. Not after this. If this place will keep it sealed, I agree." He never let go of his dagger, but with his other hand, he reached towards his belt and pulled out the Key again. It glowed strangely in the darkness – the odd runes on it seemed to penetrate it with their pulsating teal magic.
Brynjolf extended his hand and offered the Key to Bishop tentatively.
"No."
Karliah's voice interrupted the silence again and they both looked at her in surprise.
"Not him. You do it, Brynjolf, please."
Bishop gave her a shocked look, but that was not visible through the darkness and the mask. But regardless, she seemed to know that he was doing it anyway.
"I can't. I can't risk it. She'll convince you not to do this," Karliah shook her head subtly.
What? She thought that Aeyrin would be so adamant about giving the Key to the Vigilants that she would try to stop this? Granted, she did want to give it to the paladins, but that was before. She considered her a friend too and she would never try to prevent her from seeing Gallus. Didn't Karliah know that? Didn't she trust her? Them? Him?
The betrayal stung, but this probably stung even more. Was that stupidly blind trust really one-sided? Had he always been just a tool for her to use in her schemes?
Like Thorn and Mercer did.
"I… very well," Brynjolf nodded when Bishop remained silent. He couldn't bring himself to speak. "I promise you, I will return the Key to that… Sepulcher."
"Thank you, Brynjolf," she nodded at the man with a blade to her neck with palpable relief. "It is in southern Falkreath, due west of the town. West from Thorn's caverns. Look for the symbol of my order."
"Aye," he only nodded again.
There was one more moment of silence before she spoke again.
"This is it then. I come into the unknown, where the shadows loom," the reverence returned to her voice, but this time, it was accompanied by a pained and mournful resignation. "I can only hope that I've done all in my power. Do it, Brynjolf."
Before he could finish the deed, her voice got quieter and she whispered, almost to herself.
"Lady of Shadows, Empress of Murk, my Lady Luck, shroud me in darkness, but leave my only light burning bright so that I can find him again."
The only sound that came next was a pained gasp and a familiar sickening gurgle. Bishop flinched at the sound, even though he knew that it was coming. He couldn't help himself.
He still felt so angry, so betrayed and hurt.
But he hoped that she would find him.
…
The peacefulness of the Rift forest was a strange thing just then
The sun was barely peeking from behind the lush canopy of the aspen trees and the early morning birds chirped all around, signaling a new day.
But everything still felt as if it was shrouded in a strange darkness when Bishop and Brynjolf stepped outside those empty halls and back into the wilderness.
Neither of them moved further though. Neither of them took a step forward in order to return to the city.
Neither of them spoke after the deed was done.
But now it seemed like the only thing they could do.
"Are you alright, lad?" Brynjolf's voice interrupted the oddly ominous scene, despite the serenity of the place.
"Yeah. Sure," Bishop's voice sounded so hoarse, as if he hadn't spoken in ages.
"Lad…" his tone was chastising, but Bishop knew that he meant well. Still… he didn't really know what to say. It felt like he still hadn't wrapped his head around what just happened.
"I'm fine. I… I'll be fine," he sighed. He always was, wasn't he? Eventually.
Brynjolf didn't push the subject, fortunately, and Bishop didn't know what to do for a moment. He tried to concentrate on anything besides his thoughts. The sounds of the forest, the crisp winter morning air, the… suddenly uncomfortably tight fabric against his clothes.
He almost forgot about that.
He quickly took off the mask from his face and unclasped the cloak. Then, without a moment's hesitation, he began to take off the stretchy armor altogether.
"What are you doing?" Brynjolf took off his mask as well, but nothing more, as he gave him a confused expression.
"I don't want this shit," Bishop grumbled morosely.
Brynjolf didn't answer for a while, but soon enough, he spoke again, this time in a half-defensive and half-apologetic tone. "It's damn good quality. Never seen the like before."
He wasn't wrong. But Bishop didn't care. He didn't want this. He didn't want anything to do with this shit. He wanted nothing to do with that… thing. A fucking Daedric Prince. Insane.
Bishop continued to yank the armor off himself, perhaps a little more harshly than necessary, but he paused for a while when something occurred to him.
"You wanna buy it?" he scoffed at Brynjolf. What did he care if Brynjolf didn't mind where it came from?
The man chuckled briefly at the notion, but his laugh exuded palpable exasperation too. "Aye, lad, maybe I do. I never scoff at free goods."
Bishop finished undressing hurriedly and he promptly shoved everything into Brynjolf's arms. He couldn't wait to put his own armor on already. This one never felt right anyway, not like the one from Aeyrin did.
"You'll pay me later," he snorted. "Don't forget, it's good quality."
Brynjolf let out the same chuckle at that as he nodded. "Of course. I think the Guild will be able to afford it now."
Obviously. They had the Eyes now. They had everything. Especially with Karliah gone. They had the Key.
Bishop didn't know why he felt the need to ask. He shouldn't care. She betrayed him. She manipulated him.
But he still cared.
"Are you going to return it?" he mumbled almost inaudibly. He shifted the subject, but Brynjolf seemed to have caught on promptly.
"Aye. I will. I have a code too and I don't break promises," he nodded. It was disturbing that Bishop felt relieved. "And… it's the least I could give her. I didn't want to do that, lad."
"I know," Bishop sighed. He knew that he was only protecting his people and he couldn't blame him. It was a shitty situation and he didn't know what to do either. Why did she have to do this? Why couldn't she just keep that shit to herself and leave everyone else alone? Whatever she wanted to do with her soul was her business, but this?
He quickly pulled out his armor from the pack and started to put it on. His movement must have looked kind of frantic, but he didn't care. He pulled on every piece haphazardly, but he felt a little better just for having it on already.
Brynjolf stayed quiet through that. Too quiet. It was stifling. Unnerving. Bishop knew that the man was watching his every move with palpable concern and it oddly both pissed him off and made him feel… grateful.
Fuck, everything felt like such a mess.
When he was finally finished, he couldn't stand the stares anymore. But he couldn't bring himself to head out yet either. He didn't know why.
So without any other ideas on what to do, he sat down at the cold ground limply and rested his head against a nearby rock.
"Fuck."
He wasn't even sure if he said that out loud anymore.
Brynjolf joined him down on the ground within a second and he put his hand on his shoulder comfortingly.
Bishop didn't want sympathy, did he? He didn't want to think about it, he didn't want to talk about it. But something about that moment… he just didn't know what else to do.
"I trusted her."
The words came out bitter. He wasn't sure if he was more mad at her for that or at himself.
"I know, lad," Brynjolf sighed. "I'm sorry, I had to. I had to protect my people."
"I know," Bishop nodded. He never blamed him. He understood completely. It was the right thing to do, wasn't it? That didn't make it feel any less crappy though. "You always do."
"I just wish I knew what to do to protect them now. I wish I knew what to do now that she's gone," Brynjolf's tone was both concerned and mournful.
"What do you mean? Isn't it obvious?" Bishop scoffed at him. What else was there to do? "You'll be the Guildmaster, sell the Eyes and pull them back from that shit. Without some fucking blessings or luck."
"Why do you think I will become the Guildmaster?" Brynjolf chuckled a bit.
"Who the fuck else? There's no one better for the job," Bishop retorted. How was that even a question?
"You think I would make a good leader?" Brynjolf's laugh suddenly turned a lot more sincere. "You have always blamed me for not doing anything."
"Yeah, well… maybe you had a good approach," Bishop sighed as his tone turned increasingly bitter. "If only others didn't do anything sometimes too." Why did she have to force this? He still didn't understand it at all. Brynjolf gave her a way out but she was so blinded by that fucking monster she couldn't accept it.
"Aye, lad," Brynjolf sighed. "My thoughts exactly," Brynjolf joined his bitter sigh.
They should have been happy that they knew the truth now, that she was exposed. Otherwise she could have just continued scheming in secret. But it didn't feel like a victory.
"I know I give you shit for tolerating Mercer," Bishop continued. "And sometimes you did fucking let too much shit happen. But I know you just tried to protect them. And I know that… back then… I know you tried to convince that asshole not to send Jules away. Even though you were with Raven on the whole blabbing shit."
"Aye. I tried," Brynjolf nodded at him mournfully. "I'm sorry I failed."
"Me too," Bishop scoffed briefly. "It's not your fault though. They force you into shit like this – having to decide who to protect, who to sacrifice. All of them do, apparently," his eyes went briefly back towards the ominous stone door with the bird symbol on them. He thought she would be different. And maybe he was stupid for thinking the same about Brynjolf now, but he didn't have it in him to keep obsessing over this. He just wanted to get away from all this shit already, be done with the Guild. "You always protected them, no matter what. Maybe you'll be the same, but if anyone has a chance of… not becoming that, it's you."
"You're right. Maybe I would be the same in the end," Brynjolf nodded thoughtfully. "I don't think you notice the changes when it's happening to you. But then, there's always some idealistic upstart who will stop at nothing to put an end to you."
"True," Bishop scoffed. It was inevitable. Every one of them ended up like that. Even the good ones. If there were any.
"Lad, you didn't know, right?" Brynjolf gave him a concerned look after a moment of silence. "You didn't know why she rushed after Mercer? That it was all about this… this shit."
"Did I look like someone who expected this?" he shook his head in response disdainfully.
"No, of course not. I'm just wondering what she told you. What convinced you to attack us?"
"It's not like I didn't want Frey dead," Bishop let out a sigh. "But… yeah, attacking you just risked getting even more enemies. I didn't wanna do that and neither did Aeyrin. But… those fucking Eyes. She didn't tell us about the… mages and breaking that fucking bond or whatever. She told us that he would use it to buy you. Everyone in the Guild. That he would buy contracts from the Brotherhood and Gods-fucking-knew what else. He would have destroyed us. Like we're not hunted at every step already."
Bishop felt Brynjolf's hand on his shoulder again, this time in a much more amicable than a pitying gesture.
"Aye. You do what you can to protect yourself and those you care about," the Nord nodded in understanding.
"Yeah." It was true for the both of them in the face of this shitstorm. Bishop only wished that he had chosen his allies differently. Then again… maybe it was for the best. Mercer was dead. So was she… even though it didn't really feel like a good thing now, it was… a solution.
There was another brief moment of silence before Brynjolf let out another sigh.
"Still hard to believe Mercer's dead."
"He had it coming," Bishop only growled in response. For all that shit he had done, he had it coming for years.
"Aye. Aye. It just makes you think. He made mistakes, big ones, but… with what awaited him in his afterlife… I can't blame him for making survival his priority. And… he did try to protect us, in his own sick way. He tried to protect us from her in the end."
"I guess that's true," Bishop grumbled. Mercer did shitty things long before he knew that Karliah was still out there, plotting against him. He was a fucking asshole, through and through. But everything felt a little bit muddier now. Bishop didn't even want to imagine having that eternity in front of him. Why the fuck did Mercer agree to that fucking oath if he hated the idea so much?
But who knew? It took them rather aggressively pulling the truth out of Karliah to find out everything. Maybe she manipulated him, maybe she managed to convince him.
"You know, whatever happened, it fucking pisses me off that I couldn't save him from that end."
There was no answer, but it felt like Brynjolf's words echoed through the serene forest.
It was hard not to sympathize with that sentiment. It was… understandable. Fuck, Bishop hated that Karliah robbed him of the pleasure of revenge. Mercer's death should have been the ultimate victory, but now it was all marred and messy.
"Nothing to do but to move on, huh, lad?" Brynjolf squeezed his shoulder a little.
"Is there ever anything else?" Bishop scoffed. Seemed like it was the only thing he ever did – there were never any ideal solutions, no endings that felt… right.
They stayed silent for a while again. The birds continued to chirp around merrily – a stark contrast to the mood. Neither of them moved yet, but there were no more words. They just sat there for a while, listening to the sounds of the forest, lost in their own thoughts.
The sun was already illuminating the vibrant leaves on the ground. It was past dawn. They'd spent so much time here.
"We should probably go," Brynjolf sighed after a while before he gave Bishop a somewhat encouraging smile: "We have people waiting for us."
That was true enough. Aeyrin must have been worried by now.
Bishop finally got off the ground and dusted himself off a bit. It kinda made him feel a little better, the idea of seeing her. And as subtle and small as the mood shift was, Brynjolf seemed to notice regardless.
"It's good to see you happy for a change, lad," he smiled at him as he got off the ground as well.
"Yeah, I'm fucking ecstatic," Bishop snorted at him in response.
"You know what I mean," Brynjolf smirked at him instead.
He did. But he still didn't wanna admit to himself how fucking obvious it was. And he really didn't wanna get all mushy right now, no matter how much he just wanted to forget this whole night by pulling Aeyrin into his embrace.
"Yeah, I know," his lips twitched as he cracked a very brief and fleeting smile.
"I think she's good for you," Brynjolf on the other hand did manage to actually smile now. Fuck, he sounded like some caring father just then. Not that Bishop would know what that should look like. "And she's a great lass. Even if she can get a little pesky about a certain Key sometimes," he chuckled
"Yeah," Bishop snorted. Aeyrin could get obsessive about shit like this. It took Bishop a moment to realize though that it was more of a question than a statement from Bryn. "You know, she will want it returned too when she hears what happened," he reassured the man. Despite all that temple shit, Aeyrin would see that this was the best thing to do. The least they could do now.
"'When she hears what happened'?" Brynjolf raised his brow at him.
"I'm not keeping this from her," Bishop shook his head vehemently. Not a chance in fucking Oblivion. Besides, she had the right to know. She was betrayed too. They all were. Probably. He wondered for a while if Raven actually knew all this but… the man still cared about the people in the Guild too. He cared about them enough to tattle on Bishop years ago and risked at the very least upsetting Jules for betraying his brother. Bishop knew that Raven would have never done it if he even suspected that Jules would be the recipient of Mercer's wrath back then but still, he risked a lot by tattling, he risked their relationship and he risked Jules going after Bishop. All for his fellow thieves. If he knew what Karliah was planning, why she was going after Mercer, he wouldn't allow the slaughter.
"No… aye… you're right," Brynjolf nodded at him. "Raven deserves to know too. Delvin will need to know, probably Vex or she'll keep prodding endlessly."
"What about the rest? What do we say?" Bishop gave him a concerned look. They should probably come up with something, shouldn't they?
"We can't tell them the truth," Bryn answered somberly. "I mean… some would… agree with her. She promised prosperity, protection… stuff of legends. Some of them can be… reckless when they see gold in front of their eyes. I knew instantly that there are those she could convince easily. That's why…"
"Yeah, I get it," Bishop interrupted him quickly. He always got it. He allowed this to happen.
He still wasn't sure if he felt shitty or proud about that.
"We can come up with something more harmless on the way," Bryn inclined his head towards the road nearby.
"Come, lad, we have lingered enough in this place."