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<\/p>\nDag returned to the Guild by way of the Ragged Flagon.\u00a0 All three of them were there: Vex, Delvin, and Brynjolf.\u00a0 Vex and Delvin each rewarded her with a hefty amount of coin, and Delvin was delighted to purchase the map she\u2019d brought back from the Warehouse.\u00a0 Each of them gave her a minor task to do, both in the city of Markarth.\u00a0 She had grimaced a bit at that.\u00a0 She was familiar with Markarth from her travel with J\u2019Hall.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t as cold as Windhelm by a fair stretch but it was equally hard and unwelcoming.\u00a0 Still, coin was coin.\u00a0 Tonilia took the jewels from the Warehouse, all of the ingredients and some of the potions she\u2019d stolen that she would never use herself, and for a goodly price.<\/p>\n
As usual, she felt eyes following her around the tavern.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t bother to turn around to look.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t want to be annoyed as soon as she saw his face.<\/p>\n
Dag found a quiet corner in one of the unused alcoves and sat down on a chest, pulling out coinpurse after coinpurse from her pack and counting the take.\u00a0 She had enough.\u00a0 She could buy the house.\u00a0 She was just about to rush out of the Flagon to do so when a thought stopped her cold.\u00a0 This purchase had implications besides just being able to sleep somewhere dry and clean.<\/p>\n
She sighed, rose, and found Brynjolf among the people in the Flagon.<\/p>\n
\u201cHello, lass.\u00a0 I see you\u2019re back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course you see that I\u2019m back, she grumped to herself. You\u2019ve been watching me ever since I set foot in here.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, and you should be pleased.\u00a0 You were absolutely right about the goods.\u00a0 There should be a nice payment from Gulum-Ei arriving soon.\u00a0 I told him that Mercer was getting cranky and so was I, and he seemed quite impressed by that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The corner of his mouth twitched up, and his eyes took on a bit of that mischievous twinkle she\u2019d seen before.\u00a0 \u201cWell done.\u00a0 You should get over to Mercer right away, then.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a second.\u00a0 I need some advice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brynjolf raised an eyebrow.\u00a0 \u201cAlright.\u00a0 What can I do for you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore you brought me into the Guild I did a few things to help out some folks here in town and in the hold, and did a job for the Jarl as well.\u00a0 She\u2019s offered me the chance to buy a house, and I really want it.\u00a0 But there\u2019s a catch.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course. There\u2019s always a catch.\u00a0 What is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s going to make me a Thane.\u00a0 I want to know what you think about that.\u00a0 Is it going to be a problem?\u201d<\/p>\n
Brynjolf stared at her.\u00a0 \u201cWell, well, lass.\u00a0 You are an enterprising thing, aren\u2019t you? Would you really turn it down if I say so?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell of course I would.\u00a0 You know the situation much better than I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
He stroked his beard, thinking, looking her over with an expression she couldn\u2019t read.\u00a0 Then he shook his head.<\/p>\n
Aw, damn, Dag thought.\u00a0 He\u2019s going to shut me down.\u00a0 Well, I did bring it on myself.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery smart of you to ask first. I appreciate that.\u00a0 But I think you should do it.\u00a0 Having both you and Maven as part of the Jarl\u2019s court could work to our advantage. I would keep it quiet, though.\u00a0 Word is bound to get around fast, but if you don\u2019t flaunt your new title it will be easier for you to use it later.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dag smiled.\u00a0 It was good to know that they\u2019d been thinking along the same lines about this development. That seemed to happen fairly frequently. It was a little unsettling.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks, Brynjolf.\u00a0 I had the same impression but I\u2019m still just learning the area.\u00a0 And this whole operation,\u201d she said, waving her hand around the Flagon.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t quite believe I\u2019m going to have my own place.\u00a0 After all of these years. It\u2019s a bit overwhelming, in a good way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe accommodations of the Cistern don\u2019t suit you.\u00a0 That\u2019s been quite clear from the beginning,\u201d he said, smirking. \u201cCobwebs and grunge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dag felt her face go hot and was happy that they were in the dark. \u201cYeah.\u00a0 Sorry about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNow get going,\u201d he said, with the smallest hint of a smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cOk, Red,\u201d Dag said, moving briskly away from him and not being able to suppress a snicker this time.\u00a0 She heard a disgusted harumph behind her as she turned into the storage cabinet door.<\/p>\n
Mercer Frey was pacing behind his desk.\u00a0 He looked up as she approached, and frowned.\u00a0 Ah yes, Dag thought.\u00a0 Nice to see you again, too, Skeever-Face.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t so much as greet her, just began to speak without any preamble.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
\u201cDid Gulum-ei give up any information on our buyer?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, he said it was a woman named Karliah.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dag couldn\u2019t believe what she saw.<\/p>\n
Mercer\u2019s eyes opened wide, his eyebrows rose, and his mouth opened.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a long pause.\u00a0 It was clear that this news had utterly scattered his thoughts and he needed a moment to collect them again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t heard that name in decades. This is grave news indeed; she is someone I had hoped never to cross paths with again.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was a look on Mercer\u2019s face that Dag had never seen and could not interpret.\u00a0 Pain? Shock? It was something real, something that wasn\u2019t his usual presentation of snide superiority.\u00a0 It only lasted for just a moment, though; his frown and his usual expression dropped across his face like a door being slammed shut. He stared at Dag, his eyes demanding her total attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cKarliah destroyed everything this Guild stood for.\u00a0 She murdered my predecessor in cold blood, and betrayed the Guild.\u00a0 Once we discovered what she\u2019d done we spent months trying to track her down, but she just vanished.\u201d<\/p>\n
That matched what Gulum-Ei had told Dag.\u00a0 So a murderer was targeting the Guild.\u00a0 Dag felt herself getting upset. Mercer wasn\u2019t exactly a warm and cuddly man but she did like the other people in the Guild, and he was the Guildmaster, and she was not going to let something happen to him. Or Brynjolf.\u00a0 Or any of the others.\u00a0 I can at least try to do that much, Dag thought.\u00a0 But first I need to know more.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo why is this such a problem, aside from what she\u2019s done in the past? She\u2019s just one woman, and everyone knows she is to be avoided.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer\u2019s response startled Dag again.\u00a0 His eyes took on an aspect of regret and his voice softened, almost as though speaking to himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were like partners.\u00a0 She was \u2026 the best. \u00a0I went with her on every heist.\u00a0 We watched each other\u2019s backs.\u00a0 I know her techniques, her skills.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, just as suddenly as before, the mask of anger dropped across his face again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf she kills me, there will be no one left who can possibly catch her. If we only knew where she was.\u201d<\/p>\n
Damn, Dag thought.\u00a0 This was so unlike the Skeever she\u2019d seen on every other occasion.\u00a0 This was real, she was certain of it. No wonder everyone here seemed to have chips on their shoulders. The previous Guildmaster must have been an exceptional person; even Mercer was angry about his death. She was beginning to be angry, too.\u00a0 It was clearly time to track this woman down and dispose of her.<\/p>\n
\u201cGulum-Ei didn\u2019t know where she went, but she did tell him that she would be \u2018where the end began.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Mercer\u2019s eyes narrowed, and he took a deep breath.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s only one place that could be \u2013 the place where she murdered Gallus.\u00a0 It\u2019s an old Nordic ruin called Snow Veil Sanctum.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pondered for a moment, then again gave Dag that intense stare that seized her attention.\u00a0 \u201cWe have to go there and stop her before she can kill again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dag almost jumped. \u201cWe?\u201d She had expected him to send her off again, errand girl that she was.\u00a0 He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I\u2019m going with you, and together we are going to kill her. Prepare yourself and meet me at the ruin.\u00a0 We can\u2019t let her slip through our fingers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dag nodded and walked slowly away, toward the other side of the Cistern, where everyone else was congregated.\u00a0 It was more than a bit unsettling that she, a rank beginner, was going to be taking on a job with the Guildmaster himself.\u00a0 Then she stopped to consider things.\u00a0 She had, after all, just handled several tasks for the Guild that had turned out to be quite important.\u00a0 And she\u2019d managed a couple of minor jobs as well.\u00a0 Guess I\u2019m not really a rank beginner anymore, she thought. Prepare myself.\u00a0 What should I do to prepare myself, I wonder. Rest, I think. At least for a few hours. I won\u2019t be any use to anyone if I\u2019m so tired that my reflexes start to go.<\/p>\n
She slowed her pace as she neared the alcove holding the exit. She wasn\u2019t quite ready to leave yet.\u00a0 She wanted to be with her people for awhile. She wasn\u2019t specifically listening to the conversations, but one intruded on her thoughts.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
\u201cIf things don\u2019t improve pretty soon I might have to find work somewhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI may still have some contacts back in Valenwood who could find work for us.\u00a0 If all else fails I can get in touch with my idiot brother. Word on the street is that he\u2019s made some — connections in Skyrim. You\u2019re welcome to join me.\u201d\u00a0 That was Niruin, the archer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll keep that in mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stood there out of the way, quietly observing for awhile, until something dawned on her. Brynjolf was moving around the periphery of the room, and the other thieves seemed to follow him at a discreet distance, gravitating to where ever he was, joking with him when he was close enough and would allow it, and he seemed to have an easy relationship with all of them. But as he approached Mercer, who was pacing behind his desk, they all returned to the side of the room she was on.\u00a0 It was the oddest thing, and she wasn\u2019t sure what she was seeing, but nobody would approach Mercer except Brynjolf.<\/p>\n
Brynjolf had moved closer to where Dag was standing when Delvin approached him.<\/p>\n
\u201cTell me you have good news,\u201d Brynjolf said.<\/p>\n
Delvin grimaced.\u00a0 \u201cIf I told you that, I\u2019d be lying.\u00a0 The clients are starting to get nervous. We haven\u2019t had a nibble in weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brynjolf looked furious. \u201cYou tell this sorry bunch of thieves they need to put their flagons down and get to work if they want to keep their status.\u201d<\/p>\n
Delvin nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI will. I will,\u201d and walked away back toward the Ragged Flagon.\u00a0 So Delvin and Vex doled out the jobs to everyone, not just to her. Is that why was she getting so many of them? The others weren\u2019t pulling their weight?<\/p>\n
Vipir and Thrynn walked over to her and started chatting.\u00a0 Flirting, really, or at least Vipir was; he clearly thought himself a great lover based on some of the chat she\u2019d heard around the place.\u00a0 Dag just smiled at him and tried not to laugh.\u00a0 He was a reasonably good-looking man, but he was not at all her type.\u00a0 Thrynn, though:\u00a0 Thrynn was drop-dead gorgeous to her eye and under different circumstances she would have been intrigued by his stories of having enjoyed all the women he could bed. Maybe someday she would feel like thinking about another relationship; if she did, she might well start with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know that story you told me, about leaving the bandits?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d he said, in his raspy voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat ever happened to the bandit leader?\u201d<\/p>\n
Thrynn grimaced.\u00a0 \u201cI left his head on a pike.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWow,\u201d Dag said.\u00a0 She nodded, and reached out to pat his arm.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry to say that I understand the feeling, though.\u201d\u00a0 She did, too, although from the viewpoint of the bandits\u2019 victims.\u00a0 It was sobering to realize that the pain went both ways. Nobody won playing that little game.<\/p>\n
She blinked, feeling eyes on her again.\u00a0 Brynjolf had wandered over and was standing near them, listening and trying not to look obvious about doing so.<\/p>\n
It was nothing if not exasperating.\u00a0 Why was it that she couldn\u2019t even have a conversation with her guildmates without him hovering about like a fly?\u00a0 She approached him, intending to call him out on it.\u00a0 He shook his head and walked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot now, lass.\u00a0 I have important things to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
And then he circled halfway around the Cistern and sat down at the edge of the pool.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
She stood there, stunned.\u00a0 Important things? \u00a0Sitting prevents you from talking to me?<\/em> It also hurt a little, if she was truthful about it.\u00a0 Having someone just turn and walk away from you stung. Especially when it was someone who usually seemed to make time for you no matter what else was going on and no matter how lowly you were in comparison to him.\u00a0 Especially when you wanted to \u2013 well, what had she wanted to do, anyway? \u00a0She\u2019d been about to chew him out for pestering her.\u00a0 She frowned and gnawed the inside of her mouth while she watched him sit there, alone.<\/p>\n But, she realized as she watched him, he indeed seemed troubled, deep in thought.\u00a0 He might well be distressed and angry about Karliah, or remembering Gallus, perhaps. \u00a0Maybe he was angry with her, that she had known about Karliah before he did; he was the Guild second, after all.\u00a0 That didn\u2019t seem likely, but his saying \u201cnot now\u201d hadn\u2019t seemed likely, either. He also looked terribly tired.\u00a0 I wonder if he ever sleeps, Dag thought.\u00a0 He stood and approached Mercer again; she could hear the low rumble of their conversation but couldn\u2019t pick out the words.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not proud of myself, she thought, but I have got to know what they\u2019re talking about.\u00a0 She spied Rune puttering about near enough to them that it might be within earshot, and wandered as nonchalantly as she could over to him.\u00a0 Gods. I hope I\u2019m not being too obvious.<\/p>\n Rune was one of the sweetest men she\u2019d ever met; thievery seemed an incongruous thing for him to be doing with his life.\u00a0 He smiled at her and asked, \u201cIs there something special, or do you just want to talk? I\u2019m happy to listen.\u201d<\/p>\n What can I ask him about?\u00a0 Snow Veil Sanctum. Where is it, does he know anything about the area. That will work.\u00a0 And she did so, and he started speaking, but she heard exactly nothing that he told her.\u00a0 What she heard instead was Mercer speaking to Brynjolf.<\/p>\n \u201cBrynjolf, have you taken care of that little issue?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMmm hmm.\u00a0 Seems they no longer wish to be part of our operation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI trust you applied the appropriate pressure?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, of course I did.\u00a0 I\u2019m afraid we may have to turn this one over to the Dark Brotherhood.\u201d Brynjolf sounded cold, hard, with that edge in his voice that she\u2019d heard before that sent chills down her spine.<\/p>\n It reminded her that this was not, in any sense, a nice man.\u00a0 He treated her well, most of the time, and had laughed with her, and that made it easy for her to forget who, and what, he really was. It was unsettling, to say the least.<\/p>\n Is this what had happened to her, out on the road?\u00a0 Had someone from the Guild sent the assassin after her?\u00a0 No, it couldn\u2019t be. Why would they have done that? She\u2019d barely done a single job for them at that point. It made no sense.<\/p>\n But they would, if they had to.\u00a0 Brynjolf would do it at Mercer\u2019s direction.\u00a0 It left her with a weight in her stomach that she could not explain.\u00a0 Perhaps it had been a good thing after all that Roggi had left her; it seemed abundantly clear that one did not simply walk away from an association with the Thieves Guild.\u00a0 That fear had occurred to her before her trip to Solitude; now she knew it to have been justified.<\/p>\n She listened to Rune for a few more minutes and then thanked him for the information, hoping that she\u2019d absorbed any of it at all. She walked toward the sarcophagus exit and then looked back, stopped cold by a sudden realization.\u00a0 By all the gods, she thought. I just did to Brynjolf exactly what I was angry about him doing to me.\u00a0 I stood and stared at him and watched him and then followed him around the Cistern and eavesdropped on him.\u00a0 What was I thinking?<\/p>\n What is the matter with me?<\/em><\/p>\n Brynjolf was sitting beside the pool again.\u00a0 She was just about to leave when he looked up, looked straight at her and stared for several moments. \u00a0He wasn\u2019t just looking in her direction, he was looking at her, and it was direct and uncomfortable and completely undecipherable. \u00a0Dag had no idea what was happening, but she refused to look away first. He finally dropped his eyes back to the pool.<\/p>\n What is this little dance we\u2019re doing, anyway?<\/em><\/p>\n She had half expected a sarcastic answer from her other voice, but none came. Dag shook her head and left.<\/p>\n There was one specific thing that Dag needed to do before she left for Snow Veil Sanctum, and she intended to do it right then.\u00a0 She needed a night alone, to think, in a quiet place, and there was just such a place waiting for her.\u00a0 She left via the sarcophagus, walking over to the shrine of Talos.<\/p>\n \u201cHi, Talos,\u201d she murmured.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know if you\u2019re really a god or not, but I\u2019m willing to take a blessing if you have one to give, regardless.\u201d\u00a0 She touched the shrine and smiled as the warmth spread through her. \u201cThank you,\u201d she said. Then she walked around the corner and mounted the stairs to Mistveil Keep.<\/p>\n The Jarl\u2019s steward was the Bosmer woman she\u2019d seen there before, Anuriel.\u00a0 Anuriel gave her an odd look as she approached, seeming to scan her quickly before smiling and asking what, in her limited power, she might do to help Dag.<\/p>\n She recognizes the Thieves Guild armor, Dag thought.\u00a0 Interesting.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand from the Jarl that you can sell me a home in the city,\u201d Dag said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019d very much like to buy it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSplendid!\u201d Anuriel said.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t look as if she thought it was splendid, to Dag\u2019s eye, but she had no problem in collecting the significant amount of coin and handing the key to the house over to her.\u00a0 It was the house Dag had expected, and it was called Honeyside. Dag thanked her and then approached the Jarl.<\/p>\n \u201cI wondered when we might see you again,\u201d Laila said with a smile.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve purchased Honeyside,\u201d Dag said.\u00a0 And I\u2019m ready to go flop in it and sleep for a hundred years, if we can move this along.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThen by my right as Jarl, I name you Thane of the Rift, with all the rights and privileges associated with that posiiton,\u201d she said, chuckling. \u201cPlease accept this as your badge of office.\u201d She handed Dag a gleaming sword.<\/p>\n Dag\u2019s mouth fell open again, for just a moment. A sword? A sword in addition to a house?\u00a0<\/em> It looked like a nice sword, too, although she was not about to use it instead of her scimitars.\u00a0 Still, maybe she could display it somehow.<\/p>\n The Jarl also intended to assign a housecarl to Dag, to live in the home and care for it when she was away.\u00a0 The idea made her terribly uncomfortable.\u00a0 She wanted this to be her own private place, and did her best to decline the offer as gracefully as she could.\u00a0 To her relief, Laila agreed, especially when Dag pointed out that the woman in question, Iona, could now be reassigned to her guard.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you, my Jarl,\u201d Dag said, without any hesitation this time. \u201cI hope that I will be worthy of your trust.\u201d<\/p>\n Dag turned and walked back through the hall.\u00a0 Did I just say that and mean it? she wondered.\u00a0 You did, and you are still and always have been an idiot<\/em>, her sarcastic voice answered.<\/p>\n She opened the door to Honeyside and couldn\u2019t suppress a gasp.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t a large house, and it certainly wasn\u2019t opulent.\u00a0 It had a sagging roof line that would have to be repaired some day.\u00a0 But inside it was warm, and cozy.\u00a0 Just through the door was a well laid-out kitchen and a table, with a fireplace on one side of the room and a baker\u2019s oven on the other.\u00a0 Past the kitchen was an alchemy station, displays for armor and weaponry \u2013 the perfect place for the Blade of the Rift — and a great many bookshelves, as well as potted plants carefully positioned to take best advantage of the sun filtering in through high windows.<\/p>\n Going down the stairs was like entering another world. \u00a0It had been dug into the banks of Riften so as to comprise at least as much space as the upstairs did, if not more. The area at the bottom of the stairs had pedestals for trophies, if she ever wanted to have such a thing. There were two bedrooms: a small one that had undoubtedly been meant for the housecarl, and a large, handsome room with a double bed, several clothes cabinets, and a lovely desk. \u00a0A spacious area around the corner from the main bedroom held a full enchanter\u2019s setup.\u00a0 Dag really didn\u2019t know anything about enchanting, but if she ever got time to learn she now had the facilities to do so without any clumsy learning efforts being watched. There was a full smithy; it was on a smaller scale than Balimund\u2019s operation but had all the essential pieces. Best of all, it warmed the entire area.\u00a0 If not for needing a cooking fire she almost could have done without the fireplace on the main level.<\/p>\n Walking through the landing area, she saw motion out of the corner of her eye.\u00a0 There were two old Riften banners hanging side by side next to the smithy doorway, and they were waving just slightly.\u00a0 She walked over to them and felt moving air, then parted them.<\/p>\n Behind the banners was a tub.\u00a0 A deep, steaming tub, with stone seats around the perimeter, plants growing on the walls above and beside, and shelves for storing clothing and towels at the entrance.\u00a0 Dag made a sound that was just shy of a squeal, and began peeling off her armor.\u00a0 It was only a few moments before she was sitting up to her neck in the very warm water heated by the forge in the next room.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is mine,\u201d she murmured.\u00a0 \u201cMy very own place.\u201d\u00a0 For the first time since her parents had been killed, she had a permanent home to call her own.<\/p>\n And yes, she was warm.<\/p>\n Dag returned to the Guild by way of the Ragged Flagon.\u00a0 All three of them were there: Vex, Delvin, and Brynjolf.\u00a0 Vex and Delvin each rewarded her with a hefty amount of coin, and Delvin was delighted to purchase the map she\u2019d brought back from the Warehouse.\u00a0 Each of them gave her a minor task … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/1-2-6-5.png\")
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<\/p>\nPart II: Shadows<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"