The Dirty Work

Aila was starting to feel the effects of going to sleep late. She was constantly yawning, and she was have trouble concentrating. She didn't regret staying up so late, though. Last night was the best night of her life. She had always wondered how it would feel, doing something like that, and now she knew. She was glad she had done it with Kathryn.

Aila blamed it on her tiredness when she tripped. Normally, tripping isn't so bad; you fall down and get right back up, but when you're at the top of a staircase, the situation tends to be a bit more dire. If Kathryn wasn't there to stop her from falling, she may very well have broken her neck. "Whoa," Kathryn said as she caught her, "Careful."

"Oh Gods Kat, thank you," Aila said. Her breaths were short and rapid from the sudden adrenaline rush.

"Well, you didn't expect me to just let you fall, did you?"

"No, of course not. But still, thank you."

"No problem."

Aila probably would have kissed her right then, but they were outside, and people were watching. She settled for a short hug. Afterward, they descended the stairs Aila had nearly fallen down. She was no longer feeling tired.

Riften had two levels, the upper level, and the lower level. The upper level was mostly made up of shops and inns. There was also the Jarl's palace and a temple a Mara. The lower level was mostly residential. There were some shops down there as well, but only a couple. But most importantly for Aila and Kathryn, the lower level was where the Ratway was found.

After many attempts, Aila had finally managed to convince Kathryn to go meet Brynjolf with her. Brynjolf had told them he could be found at The Ragged Flagon in the Ratway, and after some asking around, they found that the entrance was in the lower level. They had to take the stairs to get down there, which is where Aila nearly fell. Once there, they came to a gate. It was unlocked, so they opened it and headed inside. There was a small tunnel that ended at a door. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Kathryn asked before they entered.

"Yes, I'm sure." Aila said.

Kathryn sighed. "Okay." She pulled open the door and shut it closed behind them.

They were greeted by darkness. Aila could barely see her hands in front of her. I wasn't completely dark, though, she could see light off in the distance. "I can't see anything," Aila said.

"Just hold on to me," Kathryn told her. Evidently, she could see much better than her in the dark. Aila put that down as a benefit to being a lycanthrope. She held on to Kathryn as they slowly made their way across the darkness. Suddenly, Kathryn stopped.

"What is it?" Aila asked.

"I think I hear someone." She answered. Aila strained her ears. Sure enough, she heard a faint whispering. It was slowly getting louder, and soon Aila could hear what it said.

"I dunno, Drahff. They'd skin us alive if they knew they were doin' this." said a gruff voice.

"Why are always acting like such a baby?" said another voice. "I've gotten us this far."

"This far? We're livin' in a sewer. You said we'd have a house as big as the Black-Briars' by now."

Aila heard an irritated sigh. " You worry about bashing people's heads in, I'll worry about the guild. Okay?" the second voice said. Aila was beginning to feel nervous. This couldn't be good.

"Okay, okay," said the first voice.

"Good. Now come on, let's go check the Ratway entrance."

Kathryn pulled her somewhere even more dark than where they were. "Stay still," she said.

Aila watched quietly as the light she saw grew bigger. When it was close, she saw the source of the light was a torch, held by one of two men approaching. As they neared, Aila was also able to see that Kathryn and her were hidden in an alcove, one of many along a long corridor. The two men past them, oblivious to their presence. When they were well past, Kathryn pulled her forward. "Come on," she whispered. "Quietly."

They sneaked past the men, and continued down to corridor. It was dark again, and Aila had to rely on Kathryn to see for her. They stopped when they came to a sudden drop. The corridor ended abruptly, and there were only two ways for them to go. Turn around and go back, or jump down. Unlike the corridor, the room below was well lit, and Aila could see a door that led to... somewhere. The drop down wasn't too far. They could easily land with no problems. "Looks like this is the only way down," Kathryn said.

"Yeah..." Aila said.

"Well, come on." She sat down on the edge an slid off. She landed on the ground with a soft thump. When she noticed Aila hadn't followed, she called out to her. "Aila? Come on."

"Um... right. Coming." She sat down and got ready to slide down. She hesitated.

"Aila?" Kathryn called again. "Hurry, before those men come back."

"Just... just give me a moment." She tried to jump. She tried again. Her body didn't want to move.

Kathryn seemed to realize what was happening. "Aila, it's not that far. Just jump."

"I'm trying."

"There's no reason to be scared. Here," she held out her arms. "I'll catch you."

Aila took a deep breath and let it out. She closed her eyes and pushed herself off the edge. She felt the brief, but terrifying sensation of falling before landing in Kathryn's arms. When she opened her eyes, she was looking into Kathryn's beautiful gleaming eyes "There," Kathryn said. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Aila shook her head. "I guess not." She smiled at a thought that popped into her head. "Besides, I'd fall for you any day."

Kathryn laughed at that. "Alright lovergirl, let's just keep moving," she said as she set Aila to her feet.

Aila nodded and followed Kathryn to the door. She was about to open it when Kathryn stopped her. "Wait," she said. "Look." She pointed to the bottom right of the door. "It's trapped."

There was a small string attached to the door. Aila never would have noticed it. "How do we get past?" Aila asked.

Kathryn thought about it for a moment. "Well, there's no other way through. Here, stand back."

Aila took a few steps back as Kathryn drew her sword. Standing as far away as possible, she held it out and cut the string with the tip. Aila yelped as three spikes suddenly sprang out of the doorway. If Kathryn had not seen the string, they would have been impaled. The spikes receded, and Kathryn carefully stepped toward the door. She grabbed the door handle, turned it, and pushed it open. What they found was more darkness. Light from the room they were just in seeped into the new one, but not much. "Aila," Kathryn said. "Be very, very careful here."

"Why?"

"There are bear traps everywhere. Stay right next to me."

"Okay," Aila said. Losing a foot was definitely not a thought that appealed to her.

They moved very slowly. While Kathryn could still see, she could not see well, and Aila couldn't at all. Kathryn wouldn't move unless she was absolutely sure there was no trap beneath them. They had finally gotten past all the traps when they reached a wall, and a door. When Kathryn opened it, Aila squinted as they were bombarded with light. Once her eyes adjusted, she saw that there was a staircase leading up to room. They climbed up and saw that the room had two paths. On path was blocked off by some sort of wooden wall, and the other was a door. There was a lever next to the path that was blocked off. Kathryn walked toward it and grabbed it. "Be careful, Kat." Aila said. "It might be trapped."

Kathryn smiled at her reassuringly. "I'm always careful." She pulled down the lever and took a few steps back. No spikes emerged from anywhere. Instead, the wooden wall began to shake, and then it fell down. I landed on a platform across from a pit, acting as a bridge. Kathryn took a few cautious steps and walk out onto it. She stopped half-way through. "Wait, a minute... we were just here." she said.

"What do you mean?" Aila asked.

"Come here, look." Kathryn said. When she walked out onto the bridge, Aila saw she was right. "See look, that's where we jumped down, and that's the corridor we entered in." She pointed to the other side of the bridge. It definitely looked like where they came in. When Aila looked down, she saw the room they were in just a little while ago. The door that had been trapped was down there as well.

"That's odd." Aila said.

"Yeah... guess we'll have to go the other way."

They turned around and headed for the passage with the door. Kathryn swung it open, and they saw it led to a large room. It was circular, with a round pool of water in the middle. Aila also noticed that there was faint odor in the air. It was a bad smell, but manageable. Kathryn on the other hand, looked as if she was about to vomit. She covered her nose with her hand and gagged. "Oh Gods," she said, "what is that smell?"

"I think it's sewage," Aila said. "We must be in the sewers."

"Great. Just my luck."

"It doesn't smell that bad."

"Maybe not for you."

"Oh, right." Aila had nearly forgotten.

"Come on, let's get this over with."

They walked around the edge of the pool of sewer water, and they saw that at the other end of the room was some kind of tavern. There were tables and a bar. When they got closer, Aila saw a sign that read The Ragged Flagon. They had made it. It was a lot harder getting here than she thought it would be. She would never have made it without Kathryn. When they got to the tavern, Aila caught sight of Brynjolf walking toward them. "Well, well. Colour me impressed, lasses. I was beginning to think you weren't going to come."

"You can thank Aila for that." Kathryn said. She was still covering her nose, so her voice came out weird. "She convinced me to go."

Brynjolf looked at her. "I know this place doesn't smell too great, but it's not that bad."

"Hmph."

"She has a sensitive nose," Aila offered.

"Well, no matter. Down to business."

"What do you want us to steal this time?" Kathryn asked. Aila couldn't help but snicker at the way her voice sounded.

"No stealing, not this time. A few deadbeats owe our organization some serious coin, and they've decided not to pay. I want you to explain to them the error of their ways."

"Sound's easy enough." Kathryn said. "Who are they?"

"Keerava, Bersi Honey-Hand, and Haelga."

"I know Keerava, she's the innkeeper, right? Who are the rest?"

"Bersi is the owner of The Pawned Prawn. Haelga runs the bunkhouse."

"Okay, I know where those are. How did you want me to deal with them?"

"Honestly, the debt is secondary here. What's more important is you get the message across that we aren't to be ignored. How you go about that is entirely up to you. If you're going after Bersi, though, the key to getting to him is in that ugly dwarven urn. Smash that thing to bits, and he'll relent. Haelga is a devout follower of Dibella and dotes over the statue to the Divine in her bunkhouse. Use that thing as leverage, and she'll cave. Finally, there's Keerava. She's a stubborn one, but she has a soft spot for family. Talk to Talen-jae. He'll tell you what you need to know."

"Alright then. Let's go Aila." Kathryn said. She seemed eager to get out of the sewers.

"One more thing. I want you to deal with them." He motioned toward Kathryn. "Since Aila here did most of the work on our last little scheme, I want you to do this one."

"Oh. Alright. Is that it?"

"Aye. Do this right, and I can promise you a permanent place in our organization."

"You keep saying that," Aila said. "What kind of organization steals from people and sends 'debt collectors' after people?" She made air quotes with her fingers as she said it.

Brynjolf smiled. "Come back with good news, and you'll find out."

Getting out of the Ratway was substantially easier than it was getting in. The bridge they had made led them right back to the entrance, and the two men that were there earlier were were gone. Once they were up-top, Aila and Kathryn got straight down to business. They went to Bersi Honey-Hand first. They walked inside the Pawned Prawn and were greeted politely by the man himself. "I have a message from Brynjolf," Kathryn told him.

"Uh... what? Oh. You're one of his thugs. So, Brynjolf can't even bother to come himself. What's the message?"

"Simple. You don't pay, bad things happen."

"Ha! Are you trying to scare me? I'm not a fool, I know what's been going on with you people. You threaten me when you can't even take care of yourselves."

"Enough of this. Are you going to pay or not?"

"You're not getting one rusty septim." Bersi said.

Kathryn sighed. "Shame." She walked over to an ornate dwarven urn, sitting on a shelf and rested her hand on it. "I quite liked this thing."

Bersi suddenly looked grave. "W-what are doing?"

"I told you already. You don't pay, bad things happen." She knocked the urn off the shelf, and it shattered as it hit the ground.

"No! That was priceless!"

"Anything else I can break?" Kathryn asked.

"No, Don't! Just... here!" He threw a coinpurse to Kathryn. "Just take it and go!"

"Much obliged."

They left him there with his broken treasure. Outside, Kathryn let out a long sigh. "So," Aila asked. "How was it?"

"How was what?"

"What you just did. How did you feel?"

"It was... interesting."

"Did you like it?"

"... Maybe."

Aila smiled. "You did, didn't you? You like to boss people around."

"I do not!" Kathryn said.

"Yes, you do. Admit it."

"Never."

"Fine. Deny it all you want, but you can't change the truth."

Kathryn grumbled. "Well, come on. We still have more people to see."

Next, they went to Haelga. She wasn't as polite as Bersi. "Who are you?" she asked (quite rudely) when they entered the bunkhouse. "What are you doing here?"

"I have a message from Brynjolf," Kathryn said.

Aila looked around the room. She couldn't see a statue of Dibella anywhere. If this went anything like the way it did with Bersi, Kathryn would need it. "Brynjolf?" Haelga said. "What does he want?"

Aila quietly stepped away and turned around the corner. Haelga didn't even notice her. Brynjolf said that Kathryn was to do this job, but he didn't say Aila couldn't help. She could still hear them talking while she searched the house. "I think you know what he wants," Kathryn was saying.

"Well you can tell Brynjolf that I'm not paying him a single rusty septim!"

Found it.

"You know, Bersi said almost the exact same thing. That didn't turn out to well for him."

"I'm not Bersi. You're not getting anything out of me."

"Oh well," Kathryn said. Aila reappeared with the statue of Dibella in her hands. She handed it to Kathryn. "Maybe I should drop this down a well."

Haelga's face turned to one of pure horror. "No! Not Lady Dibella! Please, don't take her!"

"Oh? Have a change of heart?" Kathryn asked.

Haelga looked at them in utter resentment. "Fine!" she reached in her pocket and pulled out a coinpurse. "Here! I hope you choke on it. Now give back Lady Dibella."

"How would I choke on a gold coin?" Kathryn wondered as she gave back the statue. "Ah, no matter. Come along, Aila."

Haelga was left cradling her beloved statue. The only one left now was Keerava. As soon as they entered the Bee and Barb, the Argonian innkeeper flew panicked. "Oh no, not you!"

"I take it you know why we're here." Kathryn said.

"Of course, how could I not? You've been terrorizing everyone in town!"

"Word travels fast."

"Yes, but don't worry. You tell Brynjolf that this was all just a misunderstanding. I didn't mean to tell him to jump off a pier. Look, I even have the gold I owe." She reached down behind the counter and grabbed a coinpurse and tossed it to Kathryn.

"Well then, I suppose there's nothing more to say. Pleasure doing business with you." She left the inn, pocketing the last coinpurse. "That was easy," she said once they had left.

"You mean the last one, or the whole thing?" asked Aila.

"Both. I was expecting a lot more resistance. But, I guess it's a good thing they didn't put up more of a fight."

"I told you it was a good idea to do this."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get back to Brynjolf."

Once back at the Ragged Flagon, Kathryn threw the three coinpurses down in front of Brynjolf, who was busy eating a sweetroll. "There's you're gold." she said.

"Well, well. You two are turning out to be quite the prize." He took one of the coinpurses and handed it back to Kathryn, and then another to Aila. "Your payment. Now if you'll follow me..."

He started to walk toward the back of the Ragged Flagon, into a passageway. Aila thought he was leading them to the door that was at the end of the hall, but instead, he opened up a wardrobe off to the side and pushed the back of it open. "Oh, a secret passage." Kathryn said. "How am I not surprised?"

The secret passage led to a door, which in turn led to a room. This room was much like the room before it, but with a few differences. For one, the pool of water in the middle had a bridge. It crossed the pool at four points, making a cross shape. There was a circular platform in the middle of the cross bridges, and someone was standing on it. Brynjolf led them to this platform. "Mercer," he said the the man standing there. "These are the ones I told you about."

"This better not be another waste of our resources, Brynjolf." Aila couldn't help but notice the slightly condescending tone of his voice. "Before we continue, I want to make one thing perfectly clear. If you play by the rules, you walk away rich. If you break the rules, you lose your share. No debates, no discussions. You do what we say, when we say."

"Rules?" Kathryn said. "I hadn't realized there were rules among thieves."

Mercer scowled. "I'll let that comment go, because you're new here. But speak any more out of line, and we're going to have a problem. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir." Aila said.

"Yeah, sure." said Kathryn.

"Good. You can talk to Vex or Delvin if you want more jobs. Go see Tonilia for your new armour. Now, If you'll excuse me, I have important matters to attend to."

"Mercer, aren't you for getting something?" Brynjolf said.

"Hmm? Oh, yes. Since Brynjolf assures me that you'll be nothing but a benefit to us, then you're in. Welcome to the Thieves' Guild."