Chapter seven - The Funeral

Sundas, First Seed 12, 4E 0 - Morning

'Citizen murdered in Bruma!' I read the title of the latest Black Horse Courier, for the thousandth time reading this to myself while sitting on my bed.

'On Sundas, First Seed 5, 4E 0, Ongar the World-Weary, a quiet, reserved, but friendly Nord elder man in the snowy city of Bruma, had been found dead in his home. A friend of Ongar had come to pay him a visit just as he found the body of Ongar. Immediately, his friend had alarmed the city guard of Bruma stating Ongar "has been murdered"! The Captain of the city guard has spent the next day afterwards performing a proper investigation on the death of poor old Ongar. The Captain has noted there was two bite puncture holes of a bite marked on his neck, the Captain concludes that this had been an attack from an animal of some sort. "He had been a nice, old man," said the innkeeper of Olav's Tap and Tack while being given an interview of his friends death. "Ongar would everyday come to my Inn and spent the most of his time there as he ate his meals and drank. I noticed also he was a very friendly person with several friends that came weekly to visit him, and with his death, it's hard to imagine if he had any enemies since hes always polite and friendly, not to mention living alone." Such a mourning tragedy this death had been to all the friends he had, also, to the citizens of Bruma as every resident had known him. Ongar had lived a long life, quiet, and responsible as he did not involve himself with any trouble. The Count and Countess of Bruma are conducting a funeral for Ongar, Sundas, First Seed 12, inside Bruma's Chapel for all his friends and any family he has to come. The funeral service will begin at Midday, all are invited to come and pay their respects to Ongar. Until then, be sure to be ready to receive your next Black Horse Courier copy of Cyrodiil's one and only newspaper, in a town near you.'

I threw the newspaper across the room, I placed my hands on my face, my cowl set aside on the bed. Ongar had been an important member of the Thieves Guild, had been honored and respected from all members.

He had been an original member for years, an expert thief, before retiring himself to become a Guild fence.

After hearing the news of his murder last Morndas, I postponed my plan of robbing the Market District at a later time as I spent the entire week mourning over him.

Ongar was among the first to meet when joining the Thieves Guild, he was the first fence everyone would be able to build a friendship with as he welcomed you to the Guild and fenced with you.

Such a loss this Guild has lost, the funeral would be in just a couple of hours from now, enough time for me to ride to Bruma and attend the funeral service.

All members of the Thieves Guild were going to be there, everyone here in the Guild Hall had already left. I stood up, walked to my wardrobe and changed my clothes into something casual.

A type of clothing to demonstrate myself as a low class person would be good enough, wouldn't raise any kind of suspicion. After I finished changing, I left my headquarters, leaving behind my gray cowl on the bed.

Midday...

I had arrived in Bruma, leaving behind my horse at the stables then I entered the city. I noticed the many paths that led to different sections of the city, it had been long since I've visited here, since I used to fence with Ongar.

It was cold, snow everywhere on the ground and on the rooftops of every building in the area, but the townspeople seemed to have been used to it nor bothered by the weather.

Next to the statue, due south of it, had been the great chapel of Talos. The doors were closed, I may have been a few minutes late. I approached the chapel, opened the doors to step in, to find many sets of eyes set upon me.

I felt quite embarrassed and uneasy with so much attention due to my late arrival, but I did the best I can to ignore it and took a seat in the last row.

Many had returned their attention back to the pastor who had been interrupted by my entering, while most wondered who I was as they murmured among themselves. I noticed after a few minutes while I looked at the back of everyone's heads that not some or a few, but all members of the Thieves Guild had been present.

Plus, some citizens of Bruma that had been friends with Ongar, or knew him, came to pay their respects. The funeral service had continued an hour, it had been a room filled with mourning.

I felt full of sorrow as I remembered all the times I had spent with Ongar, bugging him to sell more and waking him up while he slept.

Ongar had been a respected member of the Guild, and our loss of him will not go unnoticed. He had been murdered, by some kind of animal attack or someone who conjured up some scamp, and we will not sit and do nothing about it.

We aren't murderers, we will not kill anyone, but we do have ties with the Dark Brotherhood. I will need to gather information of Ongar's murder, speak with Arquen to after and find out who the suspect is.

In due time, I will find out who this murderer is no matter what.

At the moment the funeral had ended, I left back home. Still reminiscing of Ongar and I, I almost crashed the horse into a tree a couple times.

When I arrived to the Imperial City, going straight to the Waterfront, into the Guild Hall, then into my room upstairs. I laid down on my bed, my cowl had still been where I left it, I placed it back in it's right place on my head.

It seems that I had missed wearing it, I rarely took it off, I slept with it on at times forgetting I had still been wearing it. Wearing this gray cowl of Nocturnal has grown so much on me the past couple months that I sometimes I forget it's even on.

I stood up from the bed and changed into my shrouded armor, taking my time to put each piece on. I forgot how tight-fitted the armor had been, almost suffocating.

I forgot also, as the armor had reminded me, that in just a weeks time, I will need to ride with a couple associates to Fort Farragut and pay Arquen for our monthly Guild armor. Maybe that will be a good time to speak with her about Ongar's murder.

I headed straight back to my bed, my head had been filled with so much heaviness, I needed to sleep it off for a few hours. I hadn't slept much last morning anyways, or rarely slept at all this entire week.

As I laid out on my bed, and closed my eyes, sleep had taken me momentarily.

Nightfall...

I awoke realizing that my cowl had still been on, forgetting to take it off again. I heard voices downstairs, everyone must be back and Burg serving his customers.

I didn't want to show I had been depressed of Ongar's passing, and I wasn't, but I had been in my room all week and no one had bothered me since the news of Ongar's death. Maybe it was time to hear what they had to say.

I got up and went downstairs, the room had been a bit populated, many had been drinking to ease off their pain for Ongar, or just drinking to set the thoughts aside.

Armand Christophe and S'Krivva have of course been assisting fellow associates, giving them their next assignment. I'm glad I glad made a good difference within the Guild, to be able to stand here on the stairs and see that things were working out.

Also, to see we've been making a lot of coin, I may have to find a new location to store all the septims. I noticed Amusei drinking mead, Jair, J'Baana, Osleif the Open-Handed, and Carwen also sitting in their own seats drinking and chatting.

Amusei seemed to have noticed me standing on the stairs as he had stood up.

"Master!" He called out, then everyone in the room noticed me. I finished my last steps down the stairs then faced them.

"We hadn't seen you at Ongar's funeral, not in any shadow or corner. Did you attend?" He asked.

"Not with my cowl on, but yes, I was there." I responded, then he looked down, trying to figure out who I had been in a room full of people, or just trying to remember something.

Then his eyes widened as it clicked. "Oh! Master! I forgot, there is a fellow brother that would like to speak with you. He says he has information of Ongar's death." Amusei said, everyone looked at him.

"Go get him." I said immediately, then he nodded and left the room, stumbling a bit due to the alcohol in his system.

I went to the counter and ordered an ale from Burg, and brought it back with me as I sat next to S'Krivva.

"Anything to report? Forgive me for excluding myself this week, I had a lot of thinking to do." I said to her.

"Don't worry about it, Guildmaster. Armand and I have been running things fine, I also had moved out of Armand's house, just next door though after speaking with the lady in the Office of Imperial Commerce." She updated me with her news proudly and a small smile.

"Ah, thats great. I was thinking if you wanted to return to Bravil, you may. I was meaning to ask you about it, but I got distracted."

"Maybe a few weeks ago, I would have said yes. After staying here a month, I'm beginning to like the city life. I go into town every once in awhile, made some friends here, and I believe that moving here was a good idea. So thank you for taking me away from that boring town filled with smells of marsh and sewer along with skooma dealers." She thanked me.

"You're welcome, the city had never been such a big thing for me."

"I can understand, you're busy running a Guild. Maybe sometime you should go to the Arena and bet on a match." She suggested.

"Arena? We have an Arena here?" I was confused.

"Is that really a question? You have not known the Imperial City had an Arena? A Colosseum?"

"No, I hadn't." I admitted.

"You have got to get out once in awhile. You are too sucked up in your work, you're never out to enjoy a drink."

"Perhaps you're right. Maybe I should take a small vacation sometime, not wearing this gray cowl." I considered.

"Maybe you should." She said.

Before I could continue speaking, Amusei along with a Khajiit male, wearing the Guild armor also, had entered the room. The Khajiit seemed a little too excited as he approached on my presence.

"Master, this is Dra'haj. One of our Guild brothers." Amusei introduced him.

"Good day, Guild brother." I greeted him.

After I finished saying those words, the enthusiasm he held inside completely broke free.

"By the nine! The Gray Fox! Why sir, it is such an honor." Dra'haj said, I smiled back.

"Pleasure is mine."

"I am truly a big fan of you, Mr. Fox! The way you broke into the Imperial Palace and stole that elder scroll, complete masterpiece! So brilliant!" He adored. I laughed feeling a little flattered with his praise.

"Well, thank you, Guild brother. The task had not been easy."

"You truly are a genius, sir! I cannot wait to one day serve under your command ad Amusei here does." Dra'haj said, Amusei smiled, proud of his position of Assistant Manager.

"Maybe one day you will, Dra'haj. Now, I heard you have something to tell me?" I asked.

"Yes. Last Sundas, before dusk, I arrived to Bruma to fence with Ongar, to sell items I stole and to bring up my fence value. Once I knocked, I didn't hear him answer or open the door. I went to Olav's Tap and Tack since he has his meals there, and once I went inside, Olav said he's gone home earlier around midday after his lunch, that he usually would have been back to eat dinner an hour before I arrived." I listened to him closely, trying to picture his story as if I had been watching it.

"I went back to his home, knocked more, and louder, but nothing. I turned the knob a bit and noticed it wasn't locked so I went inside, then I find that there was plenty of blood all over the floor near his bed, and his body on the bed as if he had fallen onto it. I almost broke down in tears, I never seen a body that had been recently killed. I moved near him, and I noticed that all the blood didn't come from his body, legs, or even his head, but from his neck! I looked closer at it, and seen two dark deep red circular puncture holes. Ongar had been attacked from a bite, from his blood being sucked out. He was bitten, yes, but not from an animal as Bravil thinks." As Dra'haj drew near the end of his story, my heart began to pound a bit hard after finally understanding, after all of the confusion, the evidence had now been put together. Panic spread throughout my body, because Ongar wasn't simply killed by anyone, or anything.

"Ongar had been bitten and killed by a vampire." Dra'haj finished. S'Krivva gasped and Amusei froze in disbelief, everyone in the room remained quiet.