Maven Black Briar had been in her office writing more important reports, but when she heard the noise, she went out with a few of her personal guard to see that the marketplace in Riften had completely collapsed. The guards and two mysterious women had gotten everyone clear when the ground began cracking, and no one had been killed or badly injured. The town guards approached the small hole that had been made, wondering what had caused it, before a few recalled a sound like an explosion coming from the well, and then the cracks began appearing.
Maven knew where that was though, and ordered her men to secure the site before returning to the keep and to her office. When she closed the door though, she was only lightly spooked by the sight of the figure standing in there. He had no hood or mask, and cuts and blood across him.
"What. Did. You. Do?" she asked in a worryingly calm tone; there was fury behind it that she was clearly tempering.
"There was someone down there. You said nothing of someone else being down there" the figure returned, either too brave or too stupid to realise when not to argue with this woman.
"Oh so a few cave-dwellers are too much to handle for you and your Brotherhood? You disappoint me. If you think I will even pay you one septim for this, you are mistaken."
"They were no cave-dwellers. No ordinary folk. They were not among your Thieves Guild. In fact, they and your Guild were about to turn on each other when we attacked."
"What other obstacles lay in your path when completing your contract are no concern of mine. My faith in you and your compatriots was clearly misplaced."
"He shouted the ceiling down."
Suddenly there was silence. Maven's expression changed from anger to one that could only be described as badly hidden shock. But the dunmer was not surprised.
"He was with a woman, who cut down just as many of us."
Maven went to her table and leant on it.
"You know this man?" the dumer asked, and she looked up at him.
~ Underground ~
The Thieves Guild was now half of what it used to be. The only Thieves that remained were Dirge, Tunilia, the bartender Vekel, the Guild Masters, and others that Nero didn't know the names of. Many had died fighting the assassins that attacked, others were either badly or lightly injured, and were now trying to heal their wounds, though they were still on edge in case of any more surprises.
"I began chasing them when I saw one of them murder a man in the street. His daughter was with him, and is now fatherless because of them. I chased the assassin but he disappeared. The only clue I had was a kid in Windhelm who'd allegedly contacted them, and gotten one to murder the old carer at Honorhall."
"I heard about that" said Delvin.
"I spoke with him, but he told me he knew nothing about the killer. So the trail went dry. I tried other leads I could, but they must've heard about it, because not too long after that I was kidnapped. By the leader of the Brotherhood herself. Astrid."
Delvin suddenly turned and gave more attention.
"She wanted to give me a slow death, but gave me the courtesy of asking for any final words. I gave some. Three."
Serana sniggered, "that's getting to be the oldest trick in the book for you."
Nero smiled, before continuing.
"It freed me from my bonds but Astrid came at me. She gave me one good scar right here," Nero motioned to his left side, "before I managed to beat her. But she got away. After that, I knew I had to finish it, or else I'd eventually wake up to find a dagger lodged in my throat. Hearing that the Penitus Oculatus were hot on their trail, I went to them, and together we stormed the Sanctuary. I finished Astrid, and we finished the Brotherhood. At least I... at least I thought we did."
"You were there?"
Nero looked at Delvin; anger seemed to be building up inside him.
"Astrid was my friend. I knew her for years!"
"Delvin!" said Brynjolf, "that's not important now!"
"But he killed Astrid! He was there and he killed her!"
"Aye, he killed her, but there's no changing that now. Delvin, listen to me, there'll be time for that later, but right now we have to focus."
Delvin eventually calmed, and sat back down.
"Alright," began Vex, "so you're saying you were involved with ending the Dark Brotherhood. Why didn't you take credit? Everyone thinks it was just the Penitus that did it. Commander Maro and all."
"I figured adding "Dark Brotherhood Slayer" to my vitae would just make my list of enemies longer. It was better that the Penitus take credit."
Suddenly Nero remembered seeing Commander Maro back in Dragonbridge when they were passing through; he was hugging a younger woman, and both seemed to be in mourning. The Dark Brotherhood must have got to him, taken something from him. From both of them. Vengeance. And he had no idea. Anger began building up in Nero now too.
"Alright, so you killed them all. Now tell us: how is it that they're back?" asked Delvin.
"That's not important right now, the point is that they are back. So I need you to tell me," he addressed the Guild masters directly and straight, "who would pay to wipe you all out?"
But before any of them could answer, Serana saw lights appearing at the far end of the cavern, where she and Nero had come in.
"Nero!" she said and got his attention before pointing it, along with the rest of the Guild's eyes to the door, where Riften guards were coming in.
"We have to go!" said Vex.
"Where?!" asked Delvin.
Brynjolf took his daggers out, "we have to fight."
"No!" said Nero, putting a hand on his arms, "there's another way out through the Ratway!"
"Don't be a fool, lad!"
"The only fools are the ones thinking they can fight when they're all cut to shit! I know where the exit is, Brynjolf."
Brynjolf didn't move, and the other Guild Masters stood as well as some of the normal Thieves, ready to fight.
Nero grabbed Brynjolf's arm, "Stay here and die, or come with me and live?"
Brynjolf looked at Nero, and then the Guards coming in, and back at Nero.
"Shit! Okay, everybody, this way, follow Nero!"
The Thieves watched Nero, Serana and Brynjolf begin to head to the door near the caved-in secret entrance, and immediately followed.
"Someone's there!" exclaimed a Guard at the far end of the Flaggon, and arrows were released, smashing the stone walls in the darkness. The Guards eventually came around, with torches in hand and blades unsheathed. And found no one.
"Spread out! See what you can find. Kill anything that moves. Jarl's orders!"
Nero, now able to stand, led the Thieves through the Ratway Warrens, a magical ball of light following and helping him to navigate the dark underground city. The warrens were dark and damp, water dripping here and there. And cold. Nero could see his breath condensing in the air. The ball of light though led them away from the roaming guards. He tried to think back to the last time he was here, when he came to save Esbern from the Thalmor. When he'd finally convinced Esbern that there was hope and to join him and Delphine, Esbern told him about another secret route that led to outside the city, one that they took to escape the Thalmor. Now, Nero was struggling to remember the way.
"You know where you're going, right?" asked Vex.
"Uhhh..."
The tunnels winded, curved, twisted and turned, and the Thieves were already tired. Eventually though, they saw light coming from the evening sky. Nero and his company followed it up to the surface, coming out of the caves and into the evening light. They were in some woods, somewhere.
Everyone took in a deep breath of fresh air, and some collapsed to the ground.
"We made it" said one thief.
"Not yet," said Brynjolf, "we're too exposed out here."
Night time was drawing in.
"Come on," said Nero, "we'll find somewhere to talk."
After exploring for a bit, they eventually found an old abandoned shack. A fire was lit, and everyone sat down and began tending to their wounds. The healthiest ones were the main Guild leaders, Brynjolf, Vex, and Delvin, as well as Serana and Nero, who were all standing.
"I don't know what we're meant to do," admitted Brynjolf, "if there even is a 'we' anymore..."
"Brynjolf," Nero began, "I know this is hard. Suffering an attack always is, especially when..." Nero looked around the room, seeing those cut up badly and bleeding.
"Doesn't matter now, lad, what's done is done."
"Not exactly" said Nero, becoming focused, "I need to know who could've hired the Brotherhood to attack you? Who hates you enough to want to see you gone?"
"Lad, we have many enemies. We've stolen from a great deal of people."
"So who among those poeple is rich or influential enough to be able to hire the Brotherhood to kill all of you?"
"It wouldn't matter who it was, there's no way they could've found us!" said Delvin.
Brynjolf was silent in thought for a moment, until he spoke, "unless... they had help..."
Both Delvin, Vex, Nero, and Serana looked at him when he said that.
"What do you mean, Bryn?" asked Delvin.
"... Mercer, he... he said... "why now of all times?" That's what he said..."
Brynjolf began to look angry, "Mercer... he knew."
"What?" Delvin and Vex exclaimed almost simultaneously.
Nero thought back to seeing Mercer in the Cistern; he turned tail and ran when the Assassins appeared.
"Brynjolf, you think Mercer knew about the assassins?" Nero asked.
He looked up at Nero, "I don't know, lad. All I know is that they cut us up bad, and they knew we were there. That can only mean someone ratted us out."
"If someone ratted us out, then they can't have been at the Guild earlier when the assassins came" said Vex.
"But Mercer was there" pointed out Nero.
"So... maybe he knew about it, but not when it would happen?" suggested Delvin.
"Gods' Damn it!" exclamed Brynolf, "we're blundering around in the dark here! We can't just be second guessing. We have to figure out who did this."
"Then I guess our best bet is to find Mercer" said Nero, and the others looked at him.
Vex turned, "just out of curiosity, what do you mean by 'our' best bet?" she asked, "why are you even still here?"
Serana turned to Nero to hear the answer.
"Because my work's not finished. Yes, I came to you today to stop whoever was forcing a friend of mine to steal. Now, he's on the run, and also seems to be the only lead to the Brotherhood I have. The Brotherhood is evil, and as you saw earlier today, they have no remorse for who they kill. They're murderers, and apparently also vampires, and as a Dawnguard I have to stop them. But to do that, I have to find them, and so far my best bet is Mercer."
Nero looked out among them, "which seems to be your goal as well. So I could use your help, and you could use mine. We need to work together."
The Thieves were silent.
Vex eyed both Nero and Serana, still unsure if they could be trusted. Delvin seemed done with the whole thing. Brynjolf looked both focused and angry at the same time, until eventually he looked up at them.
"Alright. We work together."
"Thanks Brynjolf," replied Nero, smiling. That is until Vex butted in,
"until Mercer is found! After that, we are done! We go our separate ways."
There was silence, until Nero nodded again, "fine."
He then turned to face the others,
"So, where would Mercer go?"
Brynjolf scoffed and began pacing, "Gods know, lad, we never made a second hideout! He could be anywhere!"
The red haired Nord thought for a moment though, dispelling his frustration, "though... he does have a house in Riften."
The Thieves exchanged looks before Nero broke the momentary silence, "a house? Could he be there?"
"Doubtful, knowing Mercer," admitted Brynjolf, "but it's worth a look. If not him, hopefully it at least heralds something to say where he might have gone."
"So you need to take a look in the house," concluded Nero.
"Us? What will you do?" asked Delvin.
"I need to go to the Sanctuary. See if there are any clues I can find."
"Didn't you say it burned down?" asked Delvin.
"Yes, it did. Unlikely I'll find anything, but it's worth a shot. Hopefully I can find a clue as to where they're hiding now, if they aren't there themselves."
"I'll come with you," said Brynjolf, "see if there's a way we can't track down these bastards."
Nero nodded at him.
"What about the house?" asked Delvin, "it's a bad idea for us to show our faces in the city again, especially in this state."
"I'll go to the house" said Serana, looking at Nero, "they don't know me there, and I'm not a target."
He looked reluctant to agree, but eventually nodded at her.
"Woah woah," began Vex, "if you think you're gonna head off to find a lead that you can keep for yourselves, you can think again. I'm coming with you."
"Vex..." began Brynjolf.
"I'm going with her, Bryn! We don't know that we can trust them yet. He said it himself, he just wants to find the Brotherhood, that's the only reason he's here. Once they've found a lead, they'll rush off like dogs."
Vex turned to Serana, who was already frowning, "looks like I'm going to the house too."
"Just don't get in my way," said Serana, angrily.
Vex joined her in frowning, as they stood next to each other.
"Alright. What do I do?"
"You stay here, Delvin. We need someone on lookout" said Brynjolf.
"Alright. Be safe, all of you. Especially you, Vex."
Vex scoffed, "thanks baldy."
Serana went to Nero, "you be careful too" she said.
"Come on, I always am," replied Nero, just a moment before a small rock from the ceiling broke off and hit him on the top of his helmet.
"Agh! That's not fair!" he exclaimed, earning a laugh from Serana. Her laugh then slowed, and they went back to sincerity.
"You be safe too. And tell Asmund that he should be alright now. But it's best that Lydia and Iona stay with him still, for now."
Serana nodded, and they kissed, before she turned and went to leave the cave, annoyed to be with Vex.
"So you know where the Sanctuary is, lad?" asked Brynjolf.
"Yes. Though admittedly it's quite far from here."
"Rats. We'll need to get our hands on some horses then."
"I've got a better idea" said Nero.
When they went outside, Brynjolf was nearly given a heart attack when Nero shouted the words:
"DURNEHVIIR!"
"What did that do?" Brynjolf asked.
"Just wait," said Nero, "oh and you aren't afraid of heights, are you?"
"Not that I know of."
"Good. Maybe."
Brynjolf was very confused, until a few moments later the air hissed as a large dragon appeared out of nowhere in front of Nero.
"Qahnaarin! It is good to see you again. What are you doing out here?"
Nero exchanged some words with the dragon in a language that Brynjolf could not understand, before soon enough the dragon lowered its neck. Nero walked over, and put a hand on a scale, before turning back to Brynjolf, "coming?"
Brynolf was lost for words, though he was quite vocal when he nearly screamed a few times as he and Nero were atop the back of the large dragon as it flew through the night sky. He also finally had an epiphany; he was afraid of heights.
~ Mistveil Keep Riften ~
"The Dragonborn?" asked the dunmer.
"Yes, did you not hear me? The Dragonborn!" answered Maven angrily, now writing something.
The dunmer straightened up. The Dragonborn was known to almost everyone in Skyrim, as a formidable warrior and a hero. But now he stood in the Brotherhood's way.
"Where can I find him?"
"You can't get your hands on the Dragonborn," answered the Jarl, "he's way above your paygrade clearly."
"He cut down many of my brethren. He may stand in my way a second time."
Maven looked up, "if you'd simply finished the Guild and gotten out before he could even intervene, we wouldn't have these problems!"
The dunmer paced, angry. This Dragonborn, this Nero Dragons-bane. He'd intervened. Him and his woman friend. He was why the contract was not yet complete.
"I've no longer any need of your services," said the Jarl, "you've proven to me you are incapable of this task. I shall find another."
"No," said the dumer, "you gave us this contract. We shall not break it. It is simply not done yet."
"Do you see any Thieves around? Because I do not, and I don't imagine I will. They're in the wind, scattered probably. Though that does solve my problem, it means complications! Many may have a personal vendetta against me, what's worse is you cannot even confirm which ones are dead because you BROUGHT THE MARKET DOWN!"
"We shall find and execute the rest of the Thieves. The contract is made, there is no breaking it."
Maven looked up at him, "you mean to find the rest of the Thieves? While they are on the run, in the wind?"
"Last I saw, the Dragonborn was with them. If he is still, it is a case of finding him to find them. Help me find him and I may be able to locate the Thieves."
"You'll have no help from me again; I gave you secure entrance and exit into the Cistern, and you butchered that task."
The dunmer stood up straight, looking down at Maven.
"Those Thieves are out there, wondering why half of them are dead and the other half are near death. Sooner or later, whether by evidence or on their own accord, they will discover who it was who ordered their assassination."
She looked up again, "is that a threat?"
"Merely stating facts."
The dunmer leant in on the table,
"Help me find the Dragonborn, and I may find the Thieves, and complete the contract."
Maven looked up at him, for a few moments, squinting her eyes in thought. Finally she sat back in her chair, "he possesses a house in the city. You can search there for him. I will not pay you for his murder, but you're free to go searching. However, you will do so quietly. If you alert anyone to me and our business-arrangement, let me promise you. You WILL be sorry."
The Dunmer stood up straight, smiling, "where is this house?"
~ Just outside of Riften ~
Serana and Vex made their way through the woods that began to recede the closer they got to the city. The walls would be visible soon enough. The Sun had now disappeared beneath the horizon, so fortunately they had cover of darkness. But Serana knew she didn't need that to be unseen.
Vex was still walking next to her, though they were in silence. Serana knew Vex didn't trust her, and that was fine; she didn't trust Vex either.
The wall appeared between the tree line that now ended just before it.
"Try to keep up," taunted Vex who broke into a run and jumped onto the wall and scaled it in a few seconds. When she was at the top, she looked down at Serana and smiled, before turning back and disappearing behind it.
Serana grit her teeth angrily, before wearing a sly smile, and running and jumping. Her Vampiric strength wasn't only in her arms, but her legs, as she jumped all the way to the top, and over.
Vex, who landed near Mercer's house, looked around for any signs of guards anywhere, and was happy to see the stillness of no one around. That happiness was taken though when Serana landed right next to her, smiling slyly. Vex scoffed, before sneaking to the house, and Serana followed.
They came to the house and Vex began picking the lock of the outer gate. Serana looked around, still no one coming. Vex kept at it, trying delicately to unlock the gate. Serana kept her eyes out, but when she heard the sound of feet on stone, she turned to see the light of a guard's torch, approaching.
"Hurry," implored Serana.
"I'm going as fast as I can!" defended Vex in quiet anger.
The guard was coming.
"You need to get it open, now!" said Serana.
"Be quiet!" returned Vex.
He would see them. Serana saw no other way. She stood, and with her foot, kicked the lock of the gate, breaking it off and the gate open. The lock breaking however made a sound. She and Vex rushed in, and closed the gate after. Serana heard the guard walk over, and stop for a few moments, investigating what he must've heard. Vex and Serana were hidden beneath the small wall, in the bushes under the cover of darkness.
The guard wasn't leaving. He must've still been looking. If he saw the gate, he'd investigate. Serana grabbed a rock, and tried her best to throw it up and away from them, without the guard noticing. A faint but recognisable bang sounded as the rock collided with stone.
"Huh?"
The sound of footsteps rang, but slowly faded away.
When they were in the clear, Serana and Vex both got up, exhaling.
"What is wrong with you!?" asked Vex.
"We were going to get noticed!" argued Serana.
"I had it under control!"
"Oh did you?"
"The idea was that Vald didn't notice!"
Serana was ready to come back at her, but then found herself very curious, "who's... who's Vald?"
Vex looked around, "Mercer's guard-dog. He's not here right now. Luckily, or after your stupid move, he'd be on us."
Serana wanted to argue, but decided the bitch wasn't worth it, and walked past her. She saw a door high above, and a small panel that was raised, preventing entrance.
"There's no getting that down without an arrow," began Vex who got out her dagger and began aiming at the mechanism, "or, even better, a well placed dag-"
She was cut off by the sound of Serana jumping and grabbing the small railing, and pulling herself up and over, outside the door. She looked down at Vex, meeting her eyes for a few moments that were only getting angrier.
"Oh Gods damn you!" Vex began, until Serana pulled the lever, bringing the beam down, allowing Vex to follow.
Vex stopped, realising that Serana had given her a way up, and saw Serana's eyebrows raised, waiting for her to follow. Vex scoffed, before putting away her dagger and walking up to the door.
Serana backed up to allow Vex to open the door, which she got to immediately. Serana watched, crossing her arms.
"Try not to kick in the door as well, huh?" asked Vex.
Serana scoffed, after just letting Vex up. She was faster on the lock though, as Serana heard the click, before Vex opened the door and they both entered.
"Alright, need to find something that gives a clue as to where ths Mercer went" said Serana.
"Yeah, I know what I have to do, thanks. Just stay outta my way," commented Vex, who walked past Serana. She followed her through the house, going down to the ground floor, all the while not seeing anybody.
"It seems strangely... empty" commented Serana.
"Well what do you expect when only one person lives here?" Vex quipped as they looked around what Serana assumed to be the lowest level.
That's when she heard the rustle of feet, the movement of a body, and the breathe just before a fight.
"Get down!" she yelled at Vex, pushing her down as an axe sailed through the air and smashed into the wall beyond them.
They turned around to see a large man, clad in studded armour, with a sword at the ready in one hand, and the other raised from throwing the axe.
"Vald," spat Vex.
"So I take a nap for five minutes and already Mercer's got company!" he said loudly.
"Something like that" returned Serana, "where is he?"
"Not here, and neither should you be" he said, raising the blade and approaching.
Vex threw a dagger at him, which he hit away with his sword.
Serana took out her elven dagger, and ducked under his first swing. She then spun and swung out, hoping to catch him in the back. He was ready for that though, and moved out of the way of her dagger before spinning again to strike at Vex. Vex barely dodged the first swing, then the second, but the third she parried away with one dagger, and took out another that she tried to slice Vald with. Vald caught her arm though, and threw her right over onto the floor. He brought his sword up, the tip facing down, ready to kill her. Serana though threw an ice spike into the sword, smashing it into pieces ad away from Vex and Vald instantly.
Vex grabbed a dagger on the ground and sliced Vald's leg, before Serana came forth and cut him with her elven dagger. The two threw a number of attacks at him, some of which he took, others he dodged. Eventually though, Serana threw a strike down from above, but Vald caught her forearm, and kicked Vex in the stomach, sending her back. He then fixated on Serana, trying to move her own dagger into her throat. She tried to stop it, and eventually got her footing back, before using her strength to push the blade away, around into Vald's stomach, and then throw him into a wardrobe, breaking through it. Serana panted a few moments with Vex, reeling from the adrenaline. Looking after Vald, she then noticed that he'd gone through the wardrobe. And had revealed the secret entrance behind.
Serana stood up straight, and then turned to Vex, who went past her to the opened doorway and stepped through.
"Come on," she said, "we have to go."
Serana panted for another moment before joining Vex. She grabbed her dagger from Vald's body and then continued descending deeper into the house.
They encountered a number of traps along the way, but eventually made their way through, unscathed. Finally, they came to a final door. Vex was aware it would trip an arrow trap that would surely kill them, and luckly disarmed it before they passed through to what looked like an office.
"This looks promising" said Serana.
Vex nodded, looking around the room, noticing the sword in the display case on the right.
Serana went to the desk. There were a few books, letters, a bowl of jewels, some kind of statue, and central lay a large piece of parchment, upon which seemed to be drawn a... location.
Vex joined her in studying the paper, "these look like... plans."
Serana studied it closely, "the Eyes of the Falmer?"
After another moment of study, Vex eventually concluded, "we need to get this back to the Guild."
Serana grabbed it, but Vex made an attempt, though she wasn't quick enough.
"I'll take that" she said.
"I think I can take are of it for now" replied Serana.
Vex got an angry look on her face.
Serana scoffed, "still don't trust me? Even a little bit? After I saved your life?"
"You didn't save me, I had him easy."
"Yeah, sure, that's why you were on your back!"
Serana looked at the parchment.
"You know what? Take it" she said, shoving it into Vex's chest, "I know what I need to know, and we're going the same way. I can see why Nero never joined you."
Serana turned and walked away, looking for the exit, whilst Vex looked at the parchment in her hands, and then up as Serana walked away. Only for a moment, before she decided to join Serana in leaving.
Outside, Serana left the house, and Vex joined momentarily, but as she headed for the wall Serana turned right.
"Where are you going?" asked Vex. Serana turned on her.
"What does it matter to you? I'll be sure to catch up once I've done something that isn't wholly about filling my purse."
"Go then, so we can finally be rid of you, now we just need your man to stay away" returned Vex.
Serana wanted to say much more, but realised that bitch wasn't worth it, and continued on her way to the orphanage. Vex watched as she went and disappeared into the city.
Serana walked through, got to the orphanage, and went inside. There, she found the Constance Michel leave the room full of orphanages along with the Housecarls, before closing the doors behind her. Lydia and Iona saw her first, and then the Constance who turned to see her.
"Serana!" they said slightly loud, but then the Constance looked at them in a certain way and said "shhh" before turning her attention to Serana, "Lady Dragons-bane."
Lydia and Iona came up first, followed by the Constance.
"Serana! Are you okay?" asked Lydia.
"We saw the market collapse! That wasn't you, was it?"
"I'm fine," she answered, "and who else," she answered the other.
"Where's Nero? Why are you here by yourself?" asked Lydia.
"Is the... danger dealt with?" added Iona.
She turned to them both, "I'm fine, I'm okay, and Nero's fine too. It's... a long story, little hard to explain."
"Lady Serana," the Constance addresse her, "is the man danger dealt with? Are my children safe?"
Serana looked at her, "um... not yet, not entirely, no. Nero and I went down to the... to find him, and we did. But he escaped."
She turned to the housecarls too, "but he's not likely to come back. It's still a good precaution though to at least have some protection."
"No offense, my lady, but must it be yours? Did you discover if this man is in government?"
"We found out who he is, and no, he's not in government. So, as far as I know, you should be safe with the city watch. But it's better safe than sorry, and until this man is caught, it is best that you and your children stay under our protection, just in case."
"You mean he's still out there?" chimed in another voice. All the women turned to see Asmund standing in the doorway, watching.
"Asmund," Serana said, quite lost for words. But then she went to him, "don't worry, you don't have anything to be afraid of, he's not likely to come back to this city. So you're more safe now than you were."
"But he's still out there?" Asmund asked.
Serana looked down when she nodded, and Asmund joined her. She then took his chin and pulled his face back up to face hers.
"But... We. Will. Find him."
Asmund nodded, and Serana kissed his forehead, "when we have, we'll come back and tell you. That's a promise" she said with a smile.
Asmund tried to return the smile, but only faintly, before the Constance bid him to return to bed. She then turned to Serana, "well... thank you, I suppose, lady Serana. It's still a comfort to hear that my children are safer now than they were before."
Serana smiled and nodded, before the Constance took her leave, allowing Serana and the housecarls to speak alone.
"So, what happened?"
Serana explained everything to them before telling them that they needed to stay at the orphanage, for now. Lydia and Iona seemed a little saddened, but understood, before Serana took her leave. She went back to the wall, jumped over, and got on her way back to the cave. That was when she heard the rustling leaves behind her, and instantly put her hands up to throw magic, when she saw a familiar figure with silver hair.
"What are you doing?!" Serana demanded.
Vex looked up at her, "I saw you and the kid. You seemed... well, like you honestly care about him, for whatever reason."
"You followed me. Joy."
"I had to make sure you weren't off selling our evidence to anyone else; that everything that happened really wasn't you."
"And?... Are you convinced?"
Vex walked up, and handed Serana the parchment. Serana looked at it and to Vex, back and forth a few times.
"I trust you. A little."
Serana looked from the parchment to Vex, and dared a smile.
"Though I'll be honest, you gotta work on that fighting style a little more."
Serana scoffed, "you haven't seen me at my best..."
A moment of silence went by, before Vex broke the silence, "well, we better get on our way back, before the others worry about me too long."
"That bald one especially, by the look of it" quipped Serana.
"Oh, don't get me started."
Serana laughed, and Vex even dared a smile as they went on their way.
~ Falkreathe ~
When Nero and Brynjolf landed, Bryn went into the bushes and puked before Nero told Durnehviir to wait around for a bit. He then led a puked-out Brynjolf through the trees and deep into the forest. Soon enough, they stood before a stone door with a large skull etched into it. A hand seemed to be pressed in red paint on the forehead of the skull. In paint, or blood.
When Nero approached, a cold, unsavory voice broke the sound of nature around them,
"What is the music of life?"
"Silence, my brother" Nero answered shrilly.
The door replied, "welcome home."
It then slowly swung open, the stone grinding on the floor as it did so. Dust fell from the frame. It had not been opened in a while.
Nero summoned a ball of light, "this way," and led them into the Sanctuary.
As they descended, they found no sign of life, only the cold air and the deafening emptiness and lifelessness of the place. In the main chamber, Nero and Brynkolf looked around, blades out and held at the ready.
Nero noticed the window at the top, the one Astrid had fallen through when he'd defeated her. The place was dead. It had been a long time.
"There's nothing here" said Brynjolf.
"You're right about that," added Nero.
Then suddenly, Brynjolf's eyebrows raised.
"What was that password you used again, lad? The one to open the door?"
"Silence, my brother. Not exactly a love song,but these assassins were homicidal."
Brynjolf smiled, "it'll do."
Nero turned to him, "what do you mean?"
"Look at it, lad. I see a new home for our Guild. No one will find us here. We may have to deal with that door, but otherwise, with a few lights and some better decor, this could be our new safehouse. Our Sanctuary."
Nero raised an eyebrow, "well, no one's using it right now."
"Exactly!"
Brynjolf seemed very pleased with himself.
"Alright, well since there's nothing else here, we better get back. Come on, let's go."
~ Outside Riften ~
"So he's been coming onto you ever since?"
"Yup. Even tried to sneak a peak at me when I was bathing in the lake one time."
"Oh Gods. How did you react?"
"Well, I left him a threat-message. It didn't get through his thick skull though because soon after he had the audacity to try and grope me."
"What?! No!"
"True story."
"Some men just can't take a hint," lamented Serana.
"Isn't that the truth of it," agreed Vex.
"How'd you react?"
"I kindly took his hand and threw him straight into the cistern. He hasn't tried anything since."
"Hope it stays that way," said Serana, before they both came to the abandoned shack. When they came in though, they noticed all the Guild members with blades at the ready, even Delvin, facing a figure central in the room. When she turned to see Vex and Serana, they could instantly see it was a dunmer woman with a dark skin and purple eyes, and a bow strapped to her back.
"Karliah!" Vex exclaimed as she went for her dagger.
"Please, Vex, stop!" Karliah said, raising her hands empty in surrender.
"Give me a damn good reason to!"
The dunmer, who Serana could only guess was Karliah took out a book. A book with a strange symbol on it.
"Delvin, why haven't you killed her yet?"
"She said she needs us to listen. She said something in that book will prove her innocent."
"What's going on here?" Serana demanded.
Vex never took her eyes off Karliah, "this elf bitch is the one who murdered our last leader, Gallus!"
Vex's eyes squinted, "you're the one who set the assassins on us!"
"NO!" Karliah denied, "that wasn't me! I didn't attack the Guild! I just need you to hear me out!"
"The same way Gallus 'heard you out' huh, Karliah? You murderer! You're the reason this has happened!"
"I am not your enemy. Mercer Frey is your enemy."
"Enough of your lies, Karliah! We've already got one rogue from the Guild to deal with! I;m not leaving another."
"Stop!" Serana demanded, and Vex and Delvin and the others looked at her.
"Serana", Vex began, "this woman, she killed our last leader!"
"She knows something about Mercer, Vex. Why else would she be here?"
Vex looked at her, then back at Karliah, who was holding the book.
"Read it, Vex. I think you'll find its implications disturbing."
Outside, Durnehviir landed and allowed Nero and Brynjolf off. Nero thanked the dragon before it took to the sky, and they both headed for the shack.
"I'll never get used to that", admitted Brynjolf, to which Nero let out a little laugh.
When they entered though, they were greeted by the sight of all the Guild, and Serana and Vex all surrounding one figure central in the room. Vex seemed to be reading something.
"Brynjolf!" Delvin exclaimed.
"Delvin, what's..."
Bryn fixated on the figure in the centre of the room. His eyes went wide.
"Karliah!"
He then began to move, and took his daggher out, before Serana stopped him, "Brynjolf, stop! You need to see something!"
"I've seen enough today, lass! Let me at her!"
"Brynjolf, you need to see this" implored Vex, who handed him a book. He looked at it a few times before he actually took it and began reading.
"Ere, Vex, what'd it say?" Delvin asked.
Nero came forward, "what's going on?" he asked, and Serana came over to him.
Everyone was watching Brynjolf as he read, and Karliah was still in the centre of the room, though she was lowering her hands.
The red headed nord eventually looked up at Karliah, now with an expression of sad shock.
"You're innocent, lass."
Karliah nodded.
"What's going on, Bryn? What does that book say?"
"It was Gallus' journal. It says Karliah is innocent, and Mercer... he's the one who murdered Gallus. He's guilty."
Everyone in the room save for Nero, Serana and Karliah was shocked and exchanging looks.
Until Vex broke the silence, "well it's a good thing we know where to find him."
Author's Notes:
My God! Sorry for the drag. This took a while. I apologise, it's hard balancing this, University, and Christmas. But this year, I'm gonna try and up my game. Key word 'try' cos I don't wanna make any promises. But anyhoo, Karliah is now tied into this story as well! Again, if I made any errors or grammar hiccups please let me know!
Characters:
Vald: Big guy who guards Mercer's home, you meet him in the Thieves Guild (TG) questline
Astrid: very hot original leader of the Dark Brotherhood. In the game you have the choice to kill her when you meet her, or do as she says in order to join the Dark Brotherhood ( made Nero's history with her a little different to the game in order to suit a need that will become clear)
Karliah: member of the TG and allegedly used to have a thing with Gallus. In the questline, you find out she actually DIDN'T kill Gallus but was framed for it by Mercer who became the new leader and stole resources from the Guild as well as something else that was important to him, Karliah and Gallus. But more on that later.
Gallus: original leader of the TG. His ghost can be met in the questline, if you follow it all the way through.
Dragon Language:
Durnehviir: curse never dying
Thanks for reading, and please leave a review! I'd love to know how I can better my writing!