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<\/p>\nEnthir had retreated to a room in the basement of the Frozen Hearth when Dag returned to Winterhold.\u00a0 When she got there, she saw why; Karliah had made her way to Winterhold and joined him, as she\u2019d promised. \u00a0They were head to head in discussion as she made her way down the room toward them. Enthir looked up and smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack, eh?\u00a0 And how is our friend Calcelmo?\u201d<\/p>\n
She sighed.\u00a0 \u201cExactly as you predicted. And no, he wasn\u2019t keen on giving up his research.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dag handed over the rubbing.<\/p>\n
“It would be inappropriate for me to ask how you obtained this, so I simply won\u2019t.\u00a0 A rubbing, eh? Odd, I was expecting notes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe original would have been a wee bit heavy to tote back here,\u201d she said, grinning. \u201cIt was quite an escapade, Enthir.\u00a0 Trust me, you don\u2019t want to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karliah gave Dag a sharp look.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Dag had thought about it all the way back to Winterhold.\u00a0 The Forsworn at the gate, the whirling blades in the Laboratory.\u00a0 The feeling of watching herself do those things, rather than doing them herself.\u00a0 It was unsettling. Brynjolf had told her the Guild didn\u2019t kill unless it was truly necessary, as it had been when Aringoth attacked her, and really that seemed the right approach for an organization devoted to moving wealth around. There was the Dark Brotherhood for other things.\u00a0 But that Forsworn man hadn\u2019t attacked her. There had been no reason to approach him.<\/p>\n
Yes there was, she told herself.\u00a0 He was going to kill that woman.\u00a0 Yes<\/em>, said her other voice, and there were guards in the area<\/em>. Maybe. Could they have gotten to him in time?\u00a0 You didn\u2019t even look, did you?\u00a0 <\/em>She didn\u2019t know how to answer that question, and it had bothered her for the entire carriage ride.<\/p>\n Dag just shook her head.\u00a0 Later, Karliah.\u00a0 If I even tell you then. I don\u2019t know what I would say.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand,\u201d Enthir said. \u201cNow let me take a good look at this. Over here, please.\u201d\u00a0 He moved to stand behind a table covered with a good number of scholarly tomes and maps already laid out.\u00a0 He used those to hold down the corners of the rubbing, and then started comparing it with Gallus\u2019 journal.<\/p>\n \u201cHmm. This is intriguing, but highly disturbing.\u00a0 It seems that Gallus had suspicions about Mercer Frey\u2019s allegiance to the Guild for months.\u201d<\/p>\n He paused to translate another passage.<\/p>\n \u201cGallus had begun to uncover what he calls \u2018an unduly lavish lifestyle, replete with spending vast amounts of gold on personal pleasures.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat?\u201d Dag exchanged a puzzled look with Karliah. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing that I\u2019ve seen in the Guild that could remotely be called lavish. \u00a0Not a thing.\u00a0 It\u2019s\u2026 disgusting down there. And Mercer \u2013 well I don\u2019t know what he does when he\u2019s not in the Cistern but he wears the same smelly leathers everyone else does.\u201d\u00a0 Karliah looked down and tried to stifle a small smile.<\/p>\n \u201cEnthir,\u201d she said, \u201cdoes the journal say where this wealth came from?\u201d<\/p>\n Enthir nodded, peering at the journal and frowning.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, and you won\u2019t like it. Gallus seems certain here that Mercer had been removing funds from the Guild\u2019s treasury without anyone\u2019s knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n Dag fumed. Well that son of a\u2026 no wonder the Guild hasn\u2019t been doing so well.\u00a0 And there he stood, sneering at Brynjolf about whether I would be a waste of Guild resources.\u00a0 Who was wasting the resources, Mercer?<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t believe it.\u00a0 I could wring that skeever\u2019s neck!\u201d she growled, earning a surprised look from both Karliah and Enthir.\u00a0 \u201cSorry, but I could.\u00a0 He and I didn\u2019t get along even before he tried to turn me into a piece of spitted meat.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs there anything else, Enthir?\u201d Karliah asked.\u00a0 \u201cAnything about\u2026 the Nightingales?\u201d<\/p>\n Enthir leafed back and forth through the journal, comparing it with the rubbing every so often and jotting down his translation.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, here it is.\u00a0 The last few pages seem to describe the failure of the Nightingales, though he doesn\u2019t go into great detail.\u00a0 Gallus also repeatedly mentions his strong belief that Mercer desecrated something known as the Twilight Sepulcher.\u201d<\/p>\n Karliah went pale. \u201cShadows preserve us.\u00a0 So it\u2019s true.\u201d<\/p>\n Enthir frowned, but his curiosity was clearly piqued. He stepped around to the front of the table, the translation of Gallus\u2019 journal in hand.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not familiar with the Twilight Sepulcher.\u00a0 What is it? What has Mercer Frey done?\u201d<\/p>\n Karliah shook her head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Enthir.\u00a0 I can\u2019t say.\u00a0 All that matters is that we deliver your translation to the Guild immediately.\u201d She paused, clearly emotional.\u00a0 \u201cFarewell, Enthir.\u00a0 Words\u2026can\u2019t express\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n Enthir smiled and patted her arm.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s alright, Karliah. You don\u2019t need to say a word.\u201d<\/p>\n He turned to Dagnell. \u201cListen, all I want is the truth to be revealed to the Guild.\u00a0 They all respected Karliah, and she deserves better. Do what you can, and I\u2019d consider it a personal favor.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t worry, Enthir.\u00a0 I want it too.\u00a0 None of them deserved to be lied to for twenty-five years.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s basically my whole lifetime, she thought.\u00a0 It\u2019s just horrid to imagine living in exile for that long.<\/p>\n He nodded. \u201cIf you\u2019re ever in this area and find yourself in need of a fence, come see me at the College. I\u2019ve been known to handle items of\u2026questionable provenance.\u201d<\/p>\n How amusing, she thought. Gallus was a thief who was also a scholar; Enthir is a scholar who is also a thief. I thought it was odd that he was so close to this whole thing, friendship or not.\u00a0 Now it makes sense.<\/p>\n Karliah turned to Dag. \u201cWe must hasten to Riften before Mercer can do more damage.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell yes.\u00a0 I just hope he hasn\u2019t already guaranteed our deaths.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to see my house again.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019d like to see my friends again.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to see whether I can make something of a life in the Guild, or whether I really need to pack my things and head for the border. \u201cListen, Karliah, I have some questions, and I think I\u2019ve earned a few answers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cVery well.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI keep hearing this phrase, Twilight Sepulcher.\u00a0 What is it?\u201d<\/p>\n Karliah paused, musing. Then she nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve come this far; I see no reason to conceal it any longer. The Twilight Sepulcher is the temple to Nocturnal.\u00a0 The Nightingales are sworn to protect it with their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n What in the world? Dag thought. \u201cWait.\u00a0 Nocturnal.\u00a0 The Daedric prince?\u201d<\/p>\n Daedric princes were among the most powerful of beings from the plane of Oblivion, each having a particular sphere of influence in the rest of the world.\u00a0 Dag knew their names, most of them, and a bit about what they did; Nocturnal, for example, was supposed to be the prince of shadows and night. Dag didn\u2019t know much more about them than that, any more than she did about Talos, but she did know that they were a lot more powerful than mortals.<\/p>\n \u201cYes. Everything that represents Nocturnal\u2019s influence is contained there in the Twilight Sepulcher.\u00a0 Now it seems that Mercer has defiled the very thing he swore to protect, and has broken his oath to Nocturnal.\u201d<\/p>\n Dag frowned. None of this made a particle of sense. \u201cNone of this makes any sense, Karliah.\u00a0 Why would Nocturnal need that kind of protection? Thieves and temples?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI felt the same way when I first learned about it,\u201d Karliah said.\u00a0 \u201cIn time, I hope you\u2019ll come to understand.\u201d<\/p>\n Dag fumed.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been putting my neck on the line for weeks and running errands for the Guild and for you, and this is getting ridiculous.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have time, Karliah. We <\/em>don\u2019t have time.\u00a0 And I\u2019d understand a whole lot more if there were a lot less mystery, since we have a madman out there somewhere threatening us and everything we care about. You\u2019re telling me that three people, three mortal people, were supposed to protect a Daedric prince.\u00a0 It\u2019s insane.\u201d<\/p>\n Karliah at least had the sense to look a bit contrite. \u201cI\u2019m sorry. As a Nightingale, I\u2019ve been sworn to secrecy regarding the Sepulcher.\u201d She sighed sadly.\u00a0 \u201cI know the Guild hasn\u2019t done much to foster faith, but I\u2019m going to have to ask that you continue to trust me.\u201d<\/p>\n Dag considered.\u00a0 She didn\u2019t have much reason to trust Karliah other than the fact that she had administered the antidote to that paralytic poison; but Karliah was the only one who had all the pieces of the puzzle.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd yet you\u2019ve just told me what it is.\u201d\u00a0 She sighed. \u201cOk, we\u2019ll play it your way for now; but if things start going bad I\u2019m going to do what I think I need to do, Nocturnal or not.\u201d<\/p>\n Karliah nodded.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll head back to Riften and scout around to see what is going on.\u00a0 It\u2019s been twenty-five years; I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll suspect me right away. In the meantime, I want you to have this.\u00a0 It belonged to Gallus.\u00a0 Under the circumstances, I think he would approve.\u201d<\/p>\n She handed Dag a sword.\u00a0 It was a beautiful thing, with an ornately carved hilt:\u00a0 a disc, with what appeared to be a highly stylized bird at its base and a round symbol above, perhaps the moons, she wasn\u2019t sure.\u00a0 The sword pulsed with energy; enchantments of some kind.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was Gallus\u2019 sword? Thank you, it\u2019s beautiful; but shouldn\u2019t you keep it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d she said, smiling sadly.\u00a0 \u201cI have one of my own.\u00a0 And I fear that if our friends in the Cistern aren\u2019t willing to listen, you may have reason to use it.\u201d<\/p>\n Enthir had retreated to a room in the basement of the Frozen Hearth when Dag returned to Winterhold.\u00a0 When she got there, she saw why; Karliah had made her way to Winterhold and joined him, as she\u2019d promised. \u00a0They were head to head in discussion as she made her way down the room toward them. … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/1-2-13-2.png\")
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<\/p>\nPart II: Shadows<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"