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<\/p>\nBrynjolf ran his hand through his hair, scowling at the floor, pacing just in front of Mercer\u2019s desk, obviously infuriated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly did Mercer take?\u201d Dagnell asked tentatively.<\/p>\n
He practically growled. \u201cBetter to ask what he left behind.\u00a0 He took everything; money, jewels, even the plans. Before Mercer took over, Gallus had been investigating potential targets for the Guild to heist. There were dozens of them; museums, estates, keeps, every kind of wealth you can imagine.\u00a0 I know where some of them are, and I\u2019m sure Delvin does as well but Mercer took all the information, the maps, the\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He trailed off.<\/p>\n
He paced faster.\u00a0 The anger winding up was palpable. He\u2019d done a wonderful job of remaining calm in front of the others but he was starting to fray.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI just can\u2019t<\/em> believe it. I don\u2019t understand how Mercer could do this to us. We may be thieves, but the one thing we don\u2019t do is hurt each other. That\u2019s been the cardinal rule, as long as I\u2019ve been with the Guild.\u201d He stopped in his tracks, staring at the floor, his hands clenching into fists and unclenching. \u201cWhich is why we all hated Karliah all these years. He knew that rule, and he told us that she was the one who broke it. To imagine that he\u2019s the one who killed Gallus. Crime is one thing. Murder is another. The bastard.\u201d\u00a0 He started pacing again. \u201cI don\u2019t understand how he got away with it. \u00a0I don\u2019t understand what made him do it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd what I truly don\u2019t understand,\u201d he added in a venomous tone, looking at Dag for the first time, \u201cis why you two didn\u2019t kill him when you had the chance. You had him right there and you didn\u2019t do what needed to be done.\u201d He was frowning, a disgusted sneer on his face.<\/p>\n The sudden roaring in her ears, the roar of anger, almost matched the heat of blood to her cheeks. Dagnell couldn\u2019t believe he was saying such a thing, such a selfish, stupid thing. It felt like a slap across the face. She locked gazes with him, glaring, fighting not to raise her hands, words trying to form and not coming.\u00a0 And then they finally did.<\/p>\n \u201cYou never asked why, did you?\u201d she spat out from between her clenched teeth, quietly enough that only he could hear. \u201cMaybe, Brynjolf,<\/em> it was because Mercer made me go in ahead of him. He was using me as a shield, a human shield, so that Karliah couldn\u2019t get a clear shot at him. Maybe, Brynjolf<\/em>, it was because Karliah put a poisoned arrow into me and paralyzed me, I mean truly paralyzed me so that I couldn\u2019t move at all, and then disappeared<\/em>, so that all I could do was watch<\/em> while Mercer sunk his sword into me and gloated about it. Do you have any idea what that is like?\u201d\u00a0 And maybe, Brynjolf, if you were anywhere near as good as you tell us you are all the damned time, you\u2019d have known that Mercer Frey wasn\u2019t what he said he was and stopped him a long damn time ago, before he could hurt people, instead of blaming other people for your own blind mistakes.<\/em><\/p>\n She hadn\u2019t realized that she\u2019d spoken that last thought aloud until his huge hands gripped her by the shoulders and he slammed her into the wall.\u00a0 Every bit of air left her lungs and the pain made her wonder if he\u2019d broken her ribs.\u00a0 His face was rage itself, and so close to hers that she could feel his breath while she gasped for her own.\u00a0 He was trembling.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t you EVER,\u201d he snarled at her, his voice pitched so that only she could hear the threat, \u201cspeak to me that way again.\u00a0 Not ever.\u201d His fingers were so deep into her shoulders that she knew their prints would be there for weeks, and she gasped in pain in spite of herself. \u201cDamn it to Oblivion, I could just\u2026\u201d and trailed off, his eyes on her but somewhere else at the same time, wild.<\/p>\n \u201cYou could just what, Brynjolf?\u201d she hissed back at him.\u00a0 \u201cHurt me?\u00a0 Would it make you feel good to flatten someone half your size?\u00a0 Is that what you need to feel better about being wrong once in your life?\u00a0 Go ahead then,\u201d she growled, squirming against his grip. \u201cHit me. You\u2019ve wanted to do it forever. I\u2019ve been hit before. I can take most men but I know I can\u2019t take you. I will last about five seconds. If that\u2019s what you need, do it. And if you can\u2019t do it then let go of me<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n His eyes widened, stunned. He pushed himself away from her as though she was a hot blade fresh from Balimund\u2019s forge, then spun away to stand behind the Guildmaster\u2019s desk, leaning against it with both hands, his head down, hair obscuring his face, his shoulders moving as he tried to slow his breathing.<\/p>\n Dag winced as she tried to move her shoulders.\u00a0 In spite of herself, tears of pain were filling her eyes and threatening to roll down her face; even lifting her arm to wipe them away hurt.\u00a0 He\u2019d come at her like a bolt of lightning, and she was lucky he hadn\u2019t killed her right then and there by accident. She\u2019d always pictured how strong he probably was, what a potential for violence he might possess, but she\u2019d not even been close. He was so much faster than she\u2019d imagined.\u00a0 He could kill someone and they\u2019d never even see him coming.<\/p>\n She also couldn\u2019t believe that she\u2019d spoken her thoughts. They were cruel thoughts, angry thoughts, and she hadn\u2019t meant to share them. But even so he\u2019d blamed her for Mercer\u2019s still being alive without knowing anything about what had happened.<\/p>\n He spoke, just loud enough for her to hear, but without moving.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m so sorry, lass.\u00a0 I just\u2026 I don\u2019t know how to deal with this. I\u2019ve known Mercer for years. Decades. He was family. \u00a0Even now I\u2019m having a hard time to grasp it all. It just makes me so angry. You have to know that I would never set out to hurt you, or anyone else in the Guild.\u201d<\/p>\n Dag laughed, one quick strangled sound that would not be denied.\u00a0 Then she struggled to force her angry voice out of her clenched throat. \u201cI don\u2019t know that. I don\u2019t know that at all. You\u2019re not a nice family man, Brynjolf, you\u2019re the heart of the Thieves Guild and you didn\u2019t get there by being soft. I knew there was a chance you would kill us when Karliah and I first came in here. \u00a0I\u2019m grateful you listened to her, because she deserved at least that much. But this? \u00a0After everything I went through to bring you proof? You don\u2019t even know what I had to do\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n She stopped, fighting with all her will to keep control. Nearly dying at Mercer\u2019s hand. The hours of trudging through snow; killing all those people in Markarth and barely escaping with her life, and that long, long trip back, all to show him what she, Karliah, and Enthir knew, so that he would stop putting his faith in a man who only cared about himself.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry that what I was thinking came out.\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t meant to say it out loud.\u00a0 But now I\u2019m glad I did. You needed to hear the truth for once.\u201d<\/p>\n She turned to walk away, but was stopped cold by his hand clamping hard onto her arm. \u00a0His voice was just barely above a whisper, and he spoke slowly. \u201cYou\u2019re right. I should have seen it, but I trusted Mercer too much even to look. I\u2019m sorry, lass. I should never, ever have raised my hand to you and I\u2019m ashamed that I did. In fact you now have the right to exact punishment because I broke the most important rule of the Guild.\u00a0 But I hope you won\u2019t, because we need to deal with Mercer. Please, stay a moment.\u201d\u00a0 He dropped his hand.<\/p>\n She breathed deeply, several times. He said please, she thought, still practically vibrating with anger.\u00a0 I will stay because of that.<\/p>\n He blew out his breath and shook his head.\u00a0 Then, just as he had when she first met him in the Flagon, he straightened up and brought himself back to the matter at hand.\u00a0 Impressive, Dag thought. \u00a0It\u2019s so impressive. I wish I could do that. \u201cWe have to find him. He has to pay for what he\u2019s done to the Guild. But before I can help you track him down I have to know everything Karliah told you.\u00a0 And I mean everything.\u201d<\/p>\n So wait, I\u2019m the one tracking him down now?<\/em> Dag was about to erupt in fury. What was wrong with everyone else in the Guild, all the people he\u2019d been complaining about who never did their share?<\/p>\n Then she swallowed against the knot of anger in her throat and nodded.\u00a0 He was right; she had just accused him of thinking he always knew everything, and now he was admitting that he didn\u2019t and asking for her help. \u00a0It was her obligation to tell him what she knew. And she did. \u00a0As she talked, she felt her anger subsiding.\u00a0 She knew so much more than he did, and he needed to understand it. Because, in the end, he was the one who had to direct everyone else.\u00a0 I need to remember that, she thought. It had to be a difficult thing indeed to have leadership dropped on you without your leave.\u00a0 So she took a moment to gather her thoughts, and started to speak.<\/p>\n \u201cMercer is the one who killed Gallus, not Karliah.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAye. I assumed as much from the last few entries in Gallus\u2019 journal.\u201d He sighed, shaking his head.\u00a0 \u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/p>\n She told him that Karliah had been the one behind Honningbrew and Goldenglow.<\/p>\n \u201cTrying to make Mercer look bad with Maven, just as we thought. Clever lass.\u201d<\/p>\n She told him that Karliah, Mercer, and Gallus were something called Nightingales. He looked truly surprised, and confused.<\/p>\n \u201cNightingales? But I always assumed they were just a tale, a way to keep the young footpads in line.\u00a0 Go on.\u201d<\/p>\n She shared Mercer\u2019s cover story about why the Guild\u2019s money had been disappearing, that he\u2019d been using it to hunt for Karliah, even though Gallus\u2019 journal showed that he\u2019d been taking it for himself long before Gallus\u2019 death.<\/p>\n He nodded. \u201cThat\u2019s what he\u2019s always told us.\u00a0 I just assumed it was true. I can\u2019t believe we didn\u2019t even question it.\u201d<\/p>\n Dag was the one pacing, now.\u00a0 She\u2019d gnawed this in her mind so much and she needed, somehow, to explain her ideas.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know whether my words are up to this, she thought.<\/p>\n \u201cHis mind has twisted things, Brynjolf. He told me that there was chaos in the Guild after Gallus\u2019 death, that he had to step in to rescue it.\u00a0 I think he\u2019s told himself that story so long that he believes it, that he thinks he saved the Guild, even though he\u2019s the one who created the problem in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf frowned.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019s a true story, as far as it goes. There was chaos, and he got things under control again, so that the killing stopped. \u00a0He\u2019s been a good leader in that respect, though we haven\u2019t done very well otherwise, as you\u2019ve seen.\u00a0 I always assumed it was just a result of losing so many people. It\u2019s my job to do the recruiting and I\u2019ve been working hard at it for a long, long time now.\u201d He shook his head. \u201cI still don\u2019t understand it.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t make any sense.\u201d<\/p>\n Dag watched him, all her anger drained now in spite of her sore shoulders, her own thoughts sifting through everything that had happened.\u00a0 I know why he did it, Dag thought. \u00a0The only person Mercer Frey cares about is Mercer Frey. And yet, that didn\u2019t feel right somehow.<\/p>\n Dag couldn\u2019t bring herself to mention how cruelly Mercer had used Brynjolf\u2019s name when he\u2019d been about to stab her.\u00a0 Brynjolf was dealing with enough.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t need to know how little regard Mercer actually had for him.\u00a0 And she didn\u2019t even know how to begin to describe Karliah\u2019s sad, lonely eyes when she blamed herself for losing Gallus. That was probably the thing that bothered Dag the most.<\/p>\n Dag looked away from Brynjolf, staring at the bookcase behind him, the place where Delvin had been displaying the funny little pieces she\u2019d sold to him.\u00a0 They added a little color to this otherwise washed-out, dirty place. There wasn\u2019t any theme to the collection, but Delvin liked the pieces.\u00a0 Maybe that was the theme.<\/p>\n I know why it started.<\/em><\/p>\n Brynjolf inhaled sharply.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n Dag jumped.\u00a0 Damn. She hadn\u2019t intended to say that aloud, either, but now she had to finish the thought.\u00a0 \u201cHe loves Karliah.\u00a0 Or at least he did.\u201d<\/p>\n He made some noise that was a cross between a snort and a laugh.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you talking about, lass?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe loved Karliah.\u00a0 That\u2019s what I\u2019m saying.\u00a0 Did you ever really listen to him talk about her?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell of course I did.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I don\u2019t think you did.\u201d\u00a0 She looked back at him, expecting to see an incredulous frown, but he was simply waiting. Impressive. He knows he needs to hear all the possibilities, no matter how silly they may seem.<\/em> \u201cWhen Mercer was telling me about Karliah it was the truest thing he ever said. His eyes\u2026changed. He admired everything about her.\u00a0 They were partners, he said. They did everything together, he said. She knew everything about him, he said. And then she ended up with Gallus, and it just \u2026 gutted him.\u201d<\/p>\n There was a pause.\u00a0 Then Brynjolf scoffed.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s ridiculous. You sound like a little girl telling a fairy story.\u201d<\/p>\n If Dag hadn\u2019t just seen how dangerous Brynjolf could be, she would have given in to her desire to beat on him.\u00a0 She took a deep breath, nearly shuddering from the effort to keep from raising her fists.\u00a0 I hate him.\u00a0 I truly hate him. \u00a0I want to break his nose for a second time.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI haven\u2019t been a \u2018little girl\u2019 for a very<\/em> long time, Brynjolf. \u00a0My parents were gone when I was just a child. I never had the luxury<\/em> of hearing fairy stories.\u201d\u00a0 His eyes shifted away from her. That\u2019s right, Red. You should be ashamed of that remark.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if you\u2019ve ever been truly in love, but if you haven\u2019t, you don\u2019t know what it\u2019s like when the person you want more than anything in the world is suddenly just gone, completely out of reach.\u201d Her voice caught, threatening to break. Brynjolf looked at her, unreadable. \u201cYou can\u2019t imagine how that hurts.\u00a0 It\u2019s enough to make you crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n He frowned.<\/p>\n \u201cBut this is Mercer, lass,\u201d he said, shaking his head. \u201cHe did this to the Guild. The Guild was his life.\u201d<\/p>\n Dag glared at Brynjolf.\u00a0 \u201cListen to me. I don\u2019t like Mercer. I\u2019ve never liked Mercer.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t trust him from the moment you brought me into this room to meet him. He\u2019s so\u2026strange. \u00a0But he\u2019s a human being just like the rest of us.\u00a0 When he talked to me about Karliah he was telling me the truth, I would bet my life on it.\u00a0 Actually, I did bet my life on it.\u00a0 I would never have walked into that ruin in front of him if I hadn\u2019t felt it all the way down to my toes. Not in a million years.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf\u2019s face had gone completely emotionless.\u00a0 He was just waiting.<\/p>\n \u201cI was right, too. He was<\/em> telling me the truth.\u00a0 But you see, he didn\u2019t tell me the whole truth.\u201d\u00a0 She snorted. \u201cI should have seen that. I\u2019ve done the same thing often enough, leaving out a few choice facts here and there. But I didn\u2019t. I don\u2019t know what it is about Mercer; he fooled both of us and we\u2019re both really good at reading people.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf raised one eyebrow but said nothing.\u00a0 Yes, I know, Red, she thought.\u00a0 I just got done telling you that you aren\u2019t that good.\u00a0 Go ahead and kick me. She shook her head and continued.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile I couldn\u2019t move, I heard him talking to Karliah about Gallus. \u2018He had you<\/em>,\u2019 he told her.\u00a0 I wish I could really tell you how it sounded. Gallus had everything. Everyone admired him. Everyone loved him, including Mercer, I think. And he had everything Mercer wanted in the world.\u00a0 It all went wrong in his mind.\u201d<\/p>\n She watched Brynjolf\u2019s eyes, completely unsure of what was going on behind them. He probably thought she was crazy.\u00a0 Maybe she was.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll bet nobody ever has been that way toward Mercer, have they? He\u2019s not exactly warm and welcoming. People trusted his capabilities, his intelligence, but they never loved him.\u201d Not the way they loved Gallus, she thought, and not the way they love you. Because people do love you, Red, whether you know it or not.\u00a0 They want to be around you. They trust you. They admire you. They want to be like you. Just like they did Gallus.<\/p>\n Brynjolf just looked at her.\u00a0 Then he shook his head and ran his hand through his hair again. \u201cAll right. We need to know where he\u2019s holed up.\u201d<\/p>\n His face was completely neutral, his eyes on her but focused inward, on his own thoughts. It was as though they hadn\u2019t been in pain and at each other\u2019s throats just a few minutes earlier. It was remarkable, but also unsettling.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to start looking through our records to see if I can find anything that will help us, but I need you to do something else for me. There\u2019s a house here in town, Riftweald Manor.\u201d<\/p>\n Dag nodded. \u201cI\u2019ve seen it; it\u2019s all boarded up. I figured it had been in a fire or something.\u201d<\/p>\n Bryn shook his head. \u201cThat\u2019s Mercer\u2019s place. It was a gift from Maven Black-Briar after she kicked the last family out. \u00a0He never stayed there, but he paid for the upkeep and hired a great lout named Vald to guard it. It\u2019s the only other place I can think of to look for clues. I need you to get in there and search it for anything that could tell us where he\u2019s gone. It\u2019s the last place in Skyrim I\u2019d ever want to send you, but I have no choice.\u201d<\/p>\n He paused and shook his head. \u201cYou\u2019re going to have to get past Vald. He\u2019s a real piece of work.\u201d He laughed sarcastically, one short bark of dark laughter.\u00a0 \u201cYou might want to talk to Vex about him. She knew him very well, if you catch my drift. \u00a0Just get in, get the information and leave. And you have permission to kill anyone who stands in your way.\u201d<\/p>\n He met her eyes, his gaze intense. \u201cBe careful, lass.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to lose anyone else to that monster.\u201d \u00a0She nodded, and he walked away.<\/p>\n It was only then that she saw Delvin, on the other side of the room, watching her with a grim look on his face.\u00a0 He had probably seen everything that happened. \u00a0It was pretty quiet in the Cistern.\u00a0 She wondered how many of the others had witnessed Brynjolf\u2019s little outburst, or whether they were all too angry about Mercer to have noticed.<\/p>\n Brynjolf ran his hand through his hair, scowling at the floor, pacing just in front of Mercer\u2019s desk, obviously infuriated. \u201cWhat exactly did Mercer take?\u201d Dagnell asked tentatively. He practically growled. \u201cBetter to ask what he left behind.\u00a0 He took everything; money, jewels, even the plans. Before Mercer took over, Gallus had been investigating potential … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/1-2-15-2.png\")
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<\/p>\nPart II: Shadows<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"