The Pink Haired Pirate: An Old Norse Saying
Rated: M for language, future mature themes, violence, gore
Warnings: Spoiler alert for Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
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"They're well-funded and they've been able to avoid identification for years. I'm impressed it reached this point. Just don't mistake my admiration for complacency; our nemesis is going to pay dearly."
Those were the last few words...phrases... Sakura has heard from Mercer Frey before she left for Solitude. Another big city, beautiful and well kept. She has read about it in 'Walking the World', the 9th volume, and about its beauty. It also hosted the Blue Palace, where Jarl Elisif the Fair was ruling the Hold from.
The widow of the late High King of Skyrim.
To choose a High King... or Queen, all the Jarls must meet up for the moot and their decision shall be shared by every single one of them.
The title of the High King/Queen was competed for more or less by her...and Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak. There will be blood, she was sure of it.
Sakura was cloaking Gulum-Ei on his path towards the East Empire Trading Company. As its name suggested, it dealt in worldwide trading and shipping over the seas between all of Tamriel's countries and islands. She was briefly wondering if it was extended past Tamriel as well.
Gulum-Ei was the Guild's, inside man. According to Mercer, he'd cut out a piece of the profit for the Guild to have, for some reason having first dibs on all kinds of exotic goods which arrived in Skyrim - silks from Hammerfell, fine parchment paper from Cyrodiil, you name it. But a few years later, he has found excuses and excuses to pay less and less until he stopped altogether.
Slimy Argonian, he was. In those flashy, colorful clothes and that paranoid shaky suit of scales.
There were two types of thieves; her Guild and then there was Gulum-Ei. The kind of thief who'd shake your hand and then stab you right in the back.
Gulum-Ei acted as a broker for Aringoth's estate. He said that the buyer was a woman. He has also said that they never dealt with names in his field of work, so he couldn't come up with a name to give her.
Gulum-Ei has also thought that Sakura was born yesterday. Because it was clear as daylight that he was not telling the full truth.
So she followed him.
Sakura never kept him out of her range. She cloaked herself with a genjutsu, as she silently walked behind the Argonian broker, all the way out of the city of Solitude, and right to the docks. Ships were coming and going, and an Imperial woman who went by the name of Vittoria Vici was pacing back and forth in her office.
Seeing so many ships and the sea brought a small tingle of nostalgia and longing.
She stepped carefully on the wooden dock, not making a single out-of-place sound. Gulum-Ei disappeared behind the doors. She stepped closer, putting a hand on the right door, looking to left and right for the guards. On her right, she spotted a distinguished Guild shadowmark carved right next to the door.
It was an upside-down triangle, cut down in half by a vertical line. A circle was drawn to encase the tip of the triangle. Sakura sighed. It meant Danger. But she inwardly grinned. Mr. Mallory would be so proud! ...Would he?
Sakura stepped inside carefully. Guards were patrolling the area regularly. Not only guards but also wardens and Imperial soldiers. Most of the gigantic cavern was water, just as fit as how it would be for the warehouse. On the little dry land it occupied, large wooden structures meant to store away containers and goods were stacked up halfway to the ceiling.
She spotted a ramp close to the entrance and she crouched, walking carefully. She spotted Gulum-Ei walking, watching over his back. Sakura's eye reddened. Her Sharingan was constantly keeping his chakra signature in check, watching him through the creaks between the crates.
Sakura wanted to follow a little further but...she has seen something shiny sparkling in the distance. Her eyes suddenly widened, as her ears twitched. She grinned. Much like a magpie, she snuck away.
The wardens were patrolling the warehouse religiously. They were mostly Imperials, clad in their matching uniforms, a hand on the handle of the steel blade while the other held a torch.
It was deadly quiet, save for the occasional breeze of the wind blowing past them. But a few torches in the distance were going off, one by one.
Angela gripped her hand on the sheathed sword strapped to her waist and walked a little closer, tilting her torch. But when she was close enough, she felt something breeze behind her back.
"Is someone there!?" She called out, turning back in an instant. Her sword was unsheathed and ready to slash through the rascal thinking of playing a joke on her.
But nobody was there. But when she turned back, all the steel ingots sitting on top of the wooden platform were gone. Angela rubbed her eyes a few times. Was she seeing things?
"Hey! Somebody stole all the books!"
"And the jewelry!" Angela looked up. One of the wardens calling out on the window of the shack high up on a platform.
The warden looked back inside before sticking his head out.
"And...a wheel of cheese!"
The rest of the Wardens jogged up to her. "Secure the perimeter. There's a thief among us we can't let escape. They have stolen a lot of precious materials!" Angela barked.
They saluted and walked to the main gate of the warehouse to secure the door, preventing anybody from entering, or much to Sakura's dismay, from leaving.
The thief sighed, curled in her hiding place. She looked at her sack filled up with loot, from weapons to precious metals, from books to jewelry, and took out a storage scroll. With a quick handsign, the sack disappeared, allowing Sakura to tuck the scroll in one of the cuirass' inner pockets.
She looked to left and right, before silently walking behind the wooden platform, right against the cavern's walls.
Sakura navigated through the labyrinth, silently, as the Wardens never thought to break out their search. But Sakura spotted a door well hidden behind a crate. Her eyebrows furrowed. She gingerly pushed the crate away and slipped past the wooden door, unobserved.
It was a tunnel, lit up with torches, and she could hear Gulum-Ei's voice in the distance. But he was not alone. She scouted ahead, silently.
She frowned.
Bandits.
Bandits!
He... he betrayed them in the favor of a band of... of bandits!
Sakura pumped chakra into her hands and feet, before jumping high on the ceiling of the cavern. She crawled slowly, above the heads of the guarding bandits.
Gulum-Ei was talking to someone in the last chamber of the cave. Much like in the warehouse, there was a wooden stacked platform that housed barrels, chests and all kinds of loot Sakura couldn't wait to get her hands on.
She threw a few pebbles, before dropping off the ceiling. Right on the back of the Argonian. He let out a gasp of surprise, and pain, as he was pushed down with weight sitting on his back.
"Long time no see, sir." A dagger was pushed to his throat.
"You. Make a move and I'll make sure your dear broker and supplier won't be of any use to you." Sakura addressed strictly to the bandits this time, who lowered their swords and bows.
"Look, Gulum-Ei, this is what are we going to do. You will tell me everything I want to know and you will let me take back our 'cut' which you have been refusing to give our guild for years. Works with you? Because I could simply tell Mercer that you had a nasty fall and a serious case of ...knotted tongue." She tapped his cheek with her dagger.
Gulum-Ei's head turned to look at the masked thief. He gulped, looking at the bandits who made no move to help him. Well, if they did, they'd have nothing to help anymore.
If he said something, she would hunt him down and kill him. But if he said nothing, he'd be dead anyway. The other she would make sure of it. She was literally sitting on his back. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Step...step back. Go, while I...I talk with our guest."
And much to Sakura's pleasure, the bandits walked away. They had another camp just a few chambers back; Sakura has seen it from above just a few moments back. She indeed got off Gulum-Ei's back, but she was still keeping an eye on every single one of his movements.
"So, talk."
The Argonian man sighed. "I have indeed acted as a broker to sell the Goldenglow Estate. The buyer's name is Karliah." And that's all. Gulum-Ei looked at her, waiting for some kind of reaction. Surprise, anger, betrayal...anything like that. Instead, if she wasn't masked, he could see a mild confusion on her face.
"You say that name like I'm supposed to know it."
"So Mercer has not told you anything? Karliah has murdered Gallus and vanished twenty years ago."
Now she could really be surprised. "Karliah? But if she has succeeded to hide for so many years... why slip up now?" She asked, referring to her 'accidental' mention of the broker's name in the contract of sale.
"I believe she's ready to confront him. Get rid of him once and for all. To meet him where everything began." He recited her own words, before frowning.
"Hell if I know what do they mean."
Sakura nodded.
"Thank you for your eventual cooperation, Gulum-Ei. Now, if you excuse me..." She turned to the chests and grinned widely, looting the place. Gulum-Ei watched her helplessly.
"You will at least tell Mercer that I'm more valuable alive than dead, right?" He sighed.
Sakura merely held an amethyst gem at the dim light of the torches. She smiled to herself.
"Shiny...huh? Oh yeah, of course, of course."
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Tonilia was reading a book when a heavy sack was dropped right in front of her. From behind it, was grinning widely a pink-haired thief whose hood and mask were pulled down. The Redguard woman blinked for a few seconds, putting the book away, and getting off the crate she was sitting on.
Tonilia opened the sack and looked inside, before looking at Sakura incredulously.
"How in the Oblivion did you manage to steal and carry all these things?"
Sakura shrugged. "Oh, well, you see, it's a trick from back home. Involving a lot of seals and headaches but the outcome is pretty worth it."
Tonilia eyed her before looking inside the sack. There were a lot of weapons. Books - which she supposed they were only Sakura's - armors, helmets, ingots, and there was a small sack filled with jewelry and gems. She also found potions, pelts and even copies of other books.
"Who did you even rob?"
"Oh, you see, it was a job in Solitude." Sakura started explaining. "I had to eventually get out the information of the poor guy in the East Empire Warehouse. Now, I was careful, I checked to see if there was a 'Protected' or 'Guild' or shadowmark like that and there wasn't. I mean there was the 'Danger' one but I had to sneak inside anyways, and this stuff was all displayed so it was a shame not to take them because they were really shiny and I also noticed I didn't have all the books so, yeah."
Tonilia dug through the sack and pulled out something which resembled a wedge of cheese wrapped in paper, but that was immediately snatched from her hands.
"I'm sorry. This is my lunch. I was hungry and I did not want my stomach to alert the guards."
The fence sighed.
"Also, some of the books I have or there are copies of it so I can sell those too. Except for this." Sakura pulled out a map and something which resembled a golden bee statue. Tonilia recognized them immediately as a few trinkets Delvin Mallory has been looking for.
"Go see Mercer, Sakura. I will sort these out and get ready the gold."
Sakura blinked before her eyes widened. Oh, right. The boss.
"Right! I'm off then. Thank you, Miss Tonilia!" She bolted right past the tables, towards the hidden doorway in the suspicious cabinet, towards the cistern.
Tonilia sighed. Again. Mallory walked over, looking at the shiny bee statue and the map, and at the rest of the loot in Sakura's sack.
"The new kid has been quite busy. I've been looking for these for a while." He picked them up. "I've marked the place as dangerous for a reason. She's either stupid or very very talented."
"Or lucky."
"Don't be ridiculous, Vex. We've never had any luck for decades. Remember the poor lad who got caught trying to pickpocket a blind man? A blind man?" Delvin scratched his chin, before digging out three coin purses. He has spotted the well-looked for Honningbrew Decanter as well. He looked in Tonilia's direction.
"Hand these to the kid when she gets back from speaking with the boss. I'm still debating to scold her or pat her back. The place is marked as 'Danger' for a reason."
Tonilia started to work, sorting out the loot and how many coins should she give Sakura. She did not touch the gems and jewelry. She spotted diamonds in there, and to be frank, she never had to trade in so much loot before. That woman didn't know where to stop, did she?
She kept the jewelry in its respective small bag, hiding it in a crate with the money Delvin promised their youngest recruit. The soul gems could be easily sold to a wizard. The weaponry, ingots, and armors could easily be bought by a blacksmith or a vendor. She wasn't sure about the books but there were few which had to be sold anyways. The rest were sitting neatly in a pile beside the crate.
She sighed. But she couldn't complain. Loot meant gold, after all.
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Sakura finished the wedge of cheese and pocketed the wrapper. Mercer noticed her approaching, so he put down his quill.
"So? What did you find out?"
"A woman named Karliah is behind all of this."
"Karliah." He grunted. "And did he say anything about her whereabouts?" And much to his anger, she shook her head.
"Not. Really. He said something among the lines of 'Where the beginning ends. But that's all."
Mercer sat back down. Snow Veil Sanctum. The tomb where Gallus found his resting place. A strange glint flickered in his eyes as she eyed the new recruit.
"Get ready for tomorrow, kid. You will be joining me in my mission to track down Karliah."
Sakura's eyes widened. But still, she nodded her head, obediently.
"Yes, sir." She departed, towards the training chamber of the cistern.
Brynjolf, who has been a witness to the whole scene, patted her back.
"I told you, lass, that he'll eventually warm up to you. Mercer must be trusting you a lot if he lets you come with him on such an important mission." Something changed across his features. It pulled them in a weary, grim frown.
"Nobody had it easy after Gallus' death, Sakura. Nobody. The Guild started to wilt with his life, Sakura. Everybody took it as a hard blow but...especially him. He was never himself after that night. And now you have the chance to bring back the traitor and make her answer for everything she has done."
Sakura looked up to him.
"I... I guess you're right, Brynjolf. As always."
She was ... proud that Mercer Frey finally accepted her in their own family. She was entrusted with a really important task too. And she has been since the very beginning of her stepping inside the Cistern.
But why did she feel like something was off? Very very off?
"Now, come on. Tonilia is done with sorting through all the loot you have brought her. She thinks you're crazy, but she feels that she'll make some good coin by fencing these around. Go through her hand, sell them more expensive to vendors all across Skyrim and beyond. Morrowind especially." He led her out of the Cistern.
She wasn't exactly sure how much has she stolen. But she certainly thought she overdid it.
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A/N: This chapter was much shorter than I was thinking of making it, but honestly, you can't stretch out too much unless you want to become, you know, dull. I feel it has gotten dull anyways.
I was thinking that instead of narrating the loot in the paragraphs, it would be better to just write in the end everything she has found. Also, keep in mind that I can't actually have her grind for loot so some stuff will be 'off-screen'. As in I picture her adventure and then I'm writing down here everything she has found.
If you want to, you can read as an extra her stats and inventory. It's completely optional. The moment you hit A/N, the chapter is over. Go for the next one or wait for it to be uploaded.
Storage Scrolls are a blessing, aren't they?
Everything Sakura has looted is possible in the real gameplay. I first launched the game, wrote down in an additional note all the loot and then I started writing the chapter.
A new love interest will be introduced soon. Hint: he has already been, but their first official and significant interaction will happen in a few chapters.
Readers who have already played this part of the game already know what kind of shit's about to go down, but I hope that I haven't made stuff too evident for readers who haven't yet. Hey, tell me your theories in the comments!
Marcurio will be the protagonist of the upcoming 'Omake' or 'Special' chapter which will happen in... well there's this chapter, the next one, and then we'll have the special filler. I'm curious if you guys can guess what is it about.
Also, any ideas of other Omakes? I'd be more than happy to listen. :)
So, this is her loot which has been cut down anyways. Tip: playing thief is the most efficient way to make gold in my opinion.
Books:
A Children's Anuad (2)
A Dance in Fire v4
A Kiss Sweet Mother
Aedra and Daedra
Antecedents of Dwemer Law (2)
Argonian Account vol.3 (2)
Biography of Barenziah v1
Biography of Barenziah v2
Brief History of the Empire v3
Brief History of the Empire v4
Galerion The Mystic
Life of Uriel Septim VII
Mystery of Talara v1
Mysterious Akavir (3)
Report: Disaster at Ionih
Ruins of Kemel-Ze
Spirit on Nirn (2)
The Amulet of Kings
The Black Arrow v1
The Book of Daedra
The Real Barenziah v1
The Real Barenziah v3 (2)
The Song of Pelinal v1
The Song of Pelinal v5 (2)
The Song of Pelinal v6
The Talos Mistake
The Wolf Queen v2 (2)
Yellow Book of Riddles
Iron Gear
Iron Armor (6)
Iron Boots (3)
Iron Dagger
Iron Greatsword (3)
Iron Helmet (2)
Iron Ingot (16)
Iron Sword
Iron Warhammer (3)
Misc
East Empire Shipping Map
Petty Soul Gem (4)
Potion of Minor Magicka
Potion of Minor Stamina (3)
Silver Ingot
Wolf Pelt
Jewelry
Amethyst
Gold Diamond Ring
Gold Ring
Silver Amethyst Ring
Silver Ring
Okay, so she has also found a total of 370 gold coins.
Now we remove the Queen Bee Statue, Honningbrew Decanter and East Empire Shipping Map from her inventory for Delvin Mallory's unmarked quest 'Litany of Larceny'.
She gets about 200 coins each.
And now...from her inventory, we also remove these:
Draught of Light Feet
Poison
Invisibility Potion
Healing Potion (2)
Pickpocketing Potion
Impstool
Inkwell
Common Soul Gem
Roll of Paper (3)
Also these will be packed and sent to Calcelmo soon. They'll be boxed and taken out of her inventory.
Dwarven Oil (2)
Dwemer Cog (2)
Dwemer Gear (3)
Dwemer Gyro
And these books will be up for sale:
A Children's Annuad
Aedra and Daedra
Antecendents of Dwemer Law
Argonian Account vol. 3
Life of Uriel Septim VII
Mysterious Akavir (2)
Spirit of Nirn
The Wolf Queen v2
Yellow Book of Riddles
Now, I did the math, and from the whole total of the sale she has received about 1142 coins.
I've also decided to list and reorder her stats page.
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Balance: 8042 Septims.
Apparel
Amulet of Mara
Amulet of Talos
Amulet of Zenithar
Boots
Clothes
Thieves Guild Armor
Thieves Guild Boots
Thieves Guild Hood
Thieves Guild Gloves
Weapons
Iron Sword of Fire
Iron Dagger
Books
2920, vol V - Second Seed
2920, vol VIII - Last Seed
A Children's Anuad
A Dance in Fire v4
A Game at Dinner
A Kiss, Sweet Mother
Advances in Lockpicking (R)
Aedra and Daedra (R)
Ages of Man
An Explorer's Guide to Skyrim
Antecedents of Dwemer Law
Argonian Account vol.3
Begger Prince
Biography of Barenziah v1
Biography of Barenziah v2
Boethiah's Proving (R)
Brief History of the Empire v3
Brief History of the Empire v4
Cats of Skyrim
Enchanter's Primer
Fall of the Snow Prince
Galerion The Mystic
Guide to Better Thieving
Gods and Worship
Life of Uriel Septim VII
Mixed Unit Tactics
Mystery of Talara v1
Mysterious Akavir
Night of Tears
Oakflesh (Spell Tome)
On Oblivion
Proper Lock Design (R)
Report: Disaster at Ionih
Ruins of Kemel-Ze
Shadowmarks (R)
Spirit on Nirn
The Aetherium Wars
The Amulet of Kings
The Black Arrow v1
The Book of Daedra
The Real Barenziah v1
The Real Barenziah v3
The City of Stone
The Exodus
The Legend of Red Eagle
The Song of Pelinal v1
The Song of Pelinal v5
The Song of Pelinal v6
The Talos Mistake
The Wolf Queen Book I
The Wolf Queen Book II
Walking the World - Volume XI: Solitude (R)
Yellow Book of Riddles.
Journals
Sakura's Journal
Hamelyn's Journal
Letters
N/A
Keys
Honningbrew Meadery Key
Honningbrew Brewhouse Key
Riften Warehouse
Potions:
Potion of Healing
Scrolls (spells)
N/A
Ingredients
Deathbell (20)
Nightshade (20)
Nirnroot (20)
Lavender
Misc:
Black Soul Gem (1)
Inkwell
Lockpicks (8)
Stone of Barenziah
Storage scrolls
Quill
Dragon Claws
Sapphire Dragon Claw
Jewelry
Amethyst (2)
Garnet (4)
Gold Diamond Ring
Gold Ingot
Gold Ring
Refined Moonstone Ingot
Silver Amethyst Ring
Silver Ring
Passive Effects
Agent of Mara (15% Resist Magic.)
Spells:
N/A
Shouts:
Kyne's Peace ( KaaN - To be unlocked)
Perks:
N/A
Quest Log (Started):
Join the Stormcloaks (Misc.)
Litany of Larceny (Misc.)
No Stone Unturned (Misc.)
Speaking with Silence (Thieves Guild)
Quest Log (Completed):
A Chance Arrangement (Thieves Guild)
Blood on the Ice (Eastmarch)
Bring It! (The Rift)
Dampened Spirits (Thieves Guild)
Discerning the Transmundane (Daedric)
Distant Memories (The Rift)
Drowned Sorrows (Winterhold)
Grimsever's Return (The Rift)
Helping Hand (The Rift)
Ice Cold (The Rift)
Loud and Clear (Thieves Guild)
Meeting the Family (Thieves Guild)
Ringmaker (The Rift)
Scoundrel's Folly (Thieves Guild)
Sealing the Deal (The Rift)
Stabilized (The Rift)
Stoking the Flames (The Rift)
Supply and Demand (The Rift)
Taking Care of Business (Thieves Guild)
The Book of Love (The Rift)
The Raid (The Rift)
Truth Ore Consequences (The Rift)
Bounties Collected
Steamcrag Camp - Giant
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