{"id":1784,"date":"2022-07-01T15:09:49","date_gmt":"2022-07-01T21:09:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/Snow\/?page_id=1784"},"modified":"2022-07-21T10:56:43","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T16:56:43","slug":"chapter-1-brynjolf-and-sayma","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/baakay.com\/Snow\/volume-ii\/part-ii-above-and-beyond\/chapter-1-brynjolf-and-sayma\/","title":{"rendered":"Chapter 1 – Brynjolf and Sayma"},"content":{"rendered":"
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 <\/p>\n

Brynjolf stared, not quite focusing, at the table, while sampling the air. It was constantly damp here, just as it was constantly damp in the Ragged Flagon and the Cistern. He\u2019d learned to taste the difference between simply musty stones and moldy ones after so many years of living with Sayma and her sharp nose. This place was only damp \u2013 no great surprise given who occupied it. He watched the light sprinkles of condensation that were a constant feature of Nightingale Hall and wondered idly how it was that the candles avoided being doused by the dampness.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to talk to your wife, Brynjolf.\u201d<\/p>\n

He grimaced and looked across the table at the slight figure wrapped in the supple darkness of the Nightingales\u2019 signature armor. She had been very gracious when he\u2019d shown up after seeing Sayma and Coyle together. She\u2019d offered him a drink and listened quietly while he related the events of recent days. Dale. Coyle. Sayma – Sendu<\/em>. It had helped just having someone who knew him well hear him out. He also knew that he would value any advice she would give him. This, though\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, Karliah. I know I need to talk to her. This is a hard thing, though. It was completely unexpected. Even her name<\/em> is someone else\u2019s! I thought we were so happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Karliah sighed. \u201cAnd you are. I\u2019ve watched you two go through so much over the past twenty years. You have two wonderful children. You\u2019ve brought the Guild back from the brink and made it a success. You and your family helped Skyrim recover from the wars. You\u2019ve been together through all of it and there\u2019s only one reason you could have weathered that much turmoil as a couple.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shook his head. \u201cI know that, with my mind. The problem is that I don\u2019t know Coe \u2013 I mean Coyle \u2013 well enough to trust him with her.\u201d He frowned. \u201cNo. That\u2019s only part of it. The real problem is that I\u2019m afraid now that she\u2019s finally got him back my usefulness is at an end. It\u2019s not as though she hasn\u2019t left me before when things changed.\u201d He grimaced again, in spite of his best efforts not to.<\/p>\n

Karliah reached across the small table to take one of his hands in hers and give it a squeeze.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve thought that nobody cared about you since you were a small boy, Brynjolf. You\u2019ve been shown that isn\u2019t the case, over and over again. But I know how it is. Those things we learn as children \u2013 even the things that are wrong \u2013 are the hardest to forget.\u201d She released his hand and sat back into her chair.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cSayma probably feels just as conflicted as you do, right now,\u201d she continued. \u201cIt has to have been a shock to find out that someone she assumed was dead is actually alive and working with her husband to boot. But that shock can\u2019t have erased twenty years of devotion, Brynjolf, even with her history of making mistakes.\u201d Her voice dropped a bit. \u201cNocturnal only knows that even though it\u2019s been forty-five years since Gallus\u2019 death my feelings for him haven\u2019t dimmed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brynjolf cringed. It was hard enough, sometimes, to remember that other people\u2019s problems were just as distressing as his own. Karliah, though, had experienced some dismal losses. She had every right to hate all of us, after the way the Guild treated her; but the only one she truly hated was Mercer Frey.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sorry, Karliah,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cI must seem like a child, whining about my worries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Karliah surprised him with a low chuckle. \u201cBrynjolf, you\u2019ve always been the closest thing I ever had to a child of my own. You may finally be showing your age just a bit, but to me you\u2019ll always be the lost and angry boy who showed up and tried to pick our pockets.\u201d<\/p>\n

He chuckled, too. That day had been so very long ago, when she\u2019d grabbed him by the back of his collar and dragged him away to meet Gallus and Mercer. By rights they should have tossed him through the door of Honorhall Orphanage to grow up there; but instead, Gallus had agreed with Karliah that anyone with such potential as a pickpocket should be trained up by the best.<\/p>\n

He frowned again, though, as that thought led him to remember the day he\u2019d watched Andante relieve Madesi of a jewel and then sell it back to him a few moments later. That should be a happy memory. It usually makes me smile. Why is it a problem now?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just Coyle\u2019s revelations that are bothering you, though, is it.\u201d Karliah\u2019s tone had no question in it. \u201cWhat else is going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEhhh,\u201d he said, making a dismissive gesture with one hand. \u201cIt\u2019s that boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOndale Perdeti,\u201d Karliah said. \u201cI have to admit that I\u2019m a bit off-balance about that as well. I didn\u2019t think Vitus the paternal sort.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shot her a disgusted look. \u201cNo. And that\u2019s an understatement. He hated children. I really don\u2019t understand the whole situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNor do I,\u201d Karliah said, \u201cbut we can\u2019t exactly ask Vitus about the circumstances of his son\u2019s birth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d he agreed. \u201cWe can\u2019t. And the lad says he never met his father, so we can\u2019t ask him about it, either. There\u2019s no question whose son he is, though. I thought I was looking at Vitus the first time I met him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I wish we could ask Vitus about it, though. I wish\u2026 No. It\u2019s pointless to wish. Even the voice I hear in my head sometimes isn\u2019t really him. I just think the things I know he would say to me, and I hear them in his voice.<\/em><\/p>\n

He shrugged, and pushed his chair back from the table. \u201cNothing to be done about it, though. Thank you, Karliah. You\u2019re right; I need to talk to her. It\u2019s a good thing I have people around to kick me in the right direction sometimes.\u201d He smiled at her, hoping that it looked sincere while being positive it did not.<\/p>\n

\u201cTake care, Brynjolf. I\u2019m certain it will all be fine once you\u2019ve both had a chance to air your concerns.\u201d<\/p>\n

He made his way back through the exit and out into the open. The concealed opening that led to Riftvale Lodge was not far away, on the other side of a large rock outcropping that hid both entrances from any prying eyes that might be lurking near Riften\u2019s gate. He grimaced as he stepped through the darkened passage.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want to do this. How have I come to the place where I\u2019m loath to talk to my own wife?<\/em><\/p>\n

How have I come to a place where wondering whether anyone cares for me even matters? I never even thought about such things before she came to Riften. <\/em><\/p>\n

Or at least I hadn\u2019t thought about them since I was a lad. Damn it, Brunulvr.<\/em><\/p>\n

The lights were already on inside when he pushed the door open. Sayma had clearly been waiting for his return; she was perched in her favorite chair before the fire, but didn\u2019t look up at him as he entered. It wasn\u2019t until he sat down on the long bench that she finally turned toward him.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cYou missed dinner. There\u2019s still stew, though,\u201d she said in a flat tone that didn\u2019t quite mask the hints of anger behind the mild words.<\/p>\n

Brynjolf gritted his teeth. In spite of his efforts, the words that escaped his lips weren\u2019t the ones he\u2019d intended to say.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope you and Coyle \u2013 enjoyed <\/em>each other\u2019s company.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sayma\u2019s eyes flashed. \u201cReally? You\u2019ve got a lot of nerve, Brynjolf. A lot of nerve. All this time you\u2019ve been making and distributing skooma, in spite of knowing how I feel about it, and you have the nerve to say something about Coyle having a meal here? I should break your nose.\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t want to bring it up again, didn\u2019t want to be angry with her, but so many resentments had boiled up from a place he thought he\u2019d hidden them that they overflowed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know better. We talked about this years ago. I thought you understood. We make money for us and for Ulfric. Yes, I\u2019m the one who set up the business, using the recipe Vitus taught me. There isn\u2019t a single other thing we could move through Tamriel that could have made us so much money \u2013 except for slaves, and I hope you know I will never have anything to do with that. Damn Thalmor. This business is also what let us break away from Maven, and you wanted that as much as I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sayma shook her head. \u201cOK. I\u2019ll admit that it makes sense. Still, Brynjolf, I thought we had agreed you\u2019d tell me these things. Years ago. And I thought I had explained to you plainly enough that I wasn\u2019t thinking clearly when I ran away from Riften. I certainly wasn\u2019t thinking about ever seeing Coyle again. He\u2019d run me off. I honestly thought he was dead. It didn\u2019t matter; nothing did right then. Someone asked for my name, I said Sayma and then remembered the woman in Solitude, and I tacked on the first surname I thought of.\u201d She tsk\u2019d. \u201cThat\u2019s all. There was no great hidden meaning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brynjolf fumed. I know that has to be true, he thought. She\u2019s said so, the others have all agreed with her, but still\u2026<\/p>\n

He rose from his seat and paced back and forth in front of the fireplace. \u201cI want to believe you,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have no idea how much. But it seems you\u2019ve made it a habit all these years, not telling me things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you talking about now<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cDale Perdeti, in the Brotherhood?\u201d He made a frustrated gesture. \u201cWere you never going to tell me about that? Am I that irrelevant?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sayma\u2019s mouth dropped open. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOh, don\u2019t try to tell me you didn\u2019t know, Listener<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sayma rose, took a few steps toward the bookshelves, and then turned to face him again. \u201cI didn\u2019t<\/em> know, Bryn. I didn\u2019t even know he existed<\/em> until you told me about him, and it was more than a bit bizarre to find out he\u2019s Andante\u2019s son. And now this? It\u2019s too strange.\u201d She shook her head. \u201cI promise you I didn\u2019t know a thing about him. I don\u2019t even pay attention to who the new recruits are. I haven\u2019t, for years. That\u2019s Nazir\u2019s job. Mine is to listen to the Night Mother. Good grief, Red. Do you pay attention to all of the new recruits in the Guild?\u201d<\/p>\n

He harrumphed. \u201cActually, I do. It\u2019s still mostly on me to recruit them, and the ones someone else suggests get run by me as well.\u201d It was a matter of some pride to him that he\u2019d been able to keep up that end of his responsibilities for so long.<\/p>\n

She threw up her hands. \u201cI give up. I don\u2019t know how I could have been expected to know everyone Nazir chose while I was raising two children, and I\u2019m not in charge of day-to-day things there. But I do know one thing, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He frowned at her. \u201cAnd what is that?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI need some air. I need some distance. I\u2019m going to go to Dawnstar for a few days. It\u2019ll give you two a chance to get over yourselves. Besides, I have business to attend to, as you\u2019ve reminded me so clearly.\u201d<\/p>\n

He fumed. \u201cOh so you\u2019re going to run away again?\u201d<\/p>\n

Her eyes flashed. \u201cI can\u2019t believe you just said that to me, but yes. If that\u2019s how you want to see it, fine. I\u2019m going to Dawnstar. I\u2019d been planning to make the trip soon anyway. I didn\u2019t expect it to be under these circumstances, but I have a lot to think about. And I think you do as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brynjolf watched her turn and walk away toward their bedroom. Then he tsk\u2019d, turned on his heel, and left their home yet again.<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t see himself dealing with the Guild right then. The one thing he could do to occupy his hands and mind, and to give Sayma a chance to clear out, was to go make more of the thing that had both caused them so much strife and been responsible for giving them such a comfortable existence.<\/p>\n

Once again, the gods can have a good laugh at my expense. I guess I must deserve it. <\/em><\/p>\n

He made his way through Riftweald Manor and down the ladder to the maze of traps. It was tiresome, going through this every time, and he missed the days when he\u2019d been able to simply leap up through the opening near the Ragged Flagon to get to the lab; but it had been a good choice to leave the traps in place. It wouldn\u2019t do to have someone follow him in.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

He pushed the door to the workroom open and stepped inside, only to stop short. Coyle was there, hunched over the corner alchemy station, humming to himself while he mixed ingredients together.<\/p>\n

\u201cHmm! Well, fancy that. I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d see you here today, boss.\u201d Coyle didn\u2019t stop what he was doing or turn to face Brynjolf.<\/p>\n

Brynjolf nodded to himself. It was hard not to be impressed by Coyle\u2019s calm self-control.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t expecting to find you here, either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, am I right in assuming that we need to talk?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brynjolf smirked, in spite of everything. \u201cAye, lad. I think we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coyle straightened and swung around to face Brynjolf. \u201cYour wife makes a mean stew. You weren\u2019t kidding about that. It was good to have a decent meal for a change. I\u2019m just not really good at cooking for myself. I\u2019m sorry you didn\u2019t join us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI almost did. But when I came back to the house, the two of you seemed as if you were having – how to put it – a nice cozy chat out in the gazebo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coyle chuckled. \u201cYeah. A chat is what it was, but I can see why you might have thought something else. It was good to see her again, and good to air out a few things from way back. You\u2019ve heard about what happened with me and our friend Daron, yes?\u201d<\/p>\n

Hmm. He\u2019s not being evasive or trying to cover anything up.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI have. You\u2019re the reason she ended up here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coyle nodded. \u201cI won\u2019t lie to you, Brynjolf. It\u2019s like I told you before. I had plans that involved someone special. Dag was the someone special.\u201d He stopped and heaved a huge sigh. \u201cWe went together. We just fit. We grew up together, really.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brynjolf nodded, remembering how Dagnell had told him \u201cwe somehow match\u201d on that day so long ago when she\u2019d suggested they marry. It was simultaneously one of his most precious memories and, on occasion, one of the most painful.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo do you still fit?\u201d he said, wishing he didn\u2019t have to ask it \u2013 wishing he didn\u2019t feel it needed to be asked. Wishing he felt confident enough that it wasn\u2019t even an issue.<\/p>\n

Coyle chuckled. The laugh wasn\u2019t sarcastic, or condescending. It was just a good-natured chuckle of amusement.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s not Dag anymore, boss. That was something she has made abundantly clear. So I couldn\u2019t say.\u201d He shook his head. \u201cListen. I remember our time together. I loved that girl with everything I had. I still do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brynjolf cringed, remembering what his wife had looked like when he\u2019d first met her. Remembering how she\u2019d been as a person. She\u2019d been clever and resourceful but also prickly and suspicious. And so was I, if the truth be told. <\/em>But she\u2019d also been one of the most desirable women he\u2019d ever met. They had<\/em> gone together. They had <\/em>matched. And hearing his own feelings being given voice by another man \u2013 the man he knew she had loved first \u2013 was like a knife turning in his gut.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted her to marry me and she turned me down,\u201d Coyle continued. \u201cDidn\u2019t think she was worthy, or some damn thing. I don\u2019t know. But I was the one who wasn\u2019t worthy. Daron and me, we made a fine mess of things. He paid a higher price than I did. He died. All I did was turn myself into a\u2026 well, we don\u2019t need to talk about that. Let\u2019s just say I did things I\u2019m not proud of. And look at me now. You\u2019ve given me a good job, Bryn, but I am after all running the same drugs that set me on that path. I\u2019m content, but I shouldn\u2019t be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Brynjolf didn\u2019t know what to say. He merely stood, observing, stroking his chin. So you\u2019ve lived a hard life, lad. So have I. Neither one of us has a halo around our heads. And we both love the same woman. The question is\u2026 \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I\u2019m pretty sure I know what you were thinking earlier and what you\u2019re wondering right now,\u201d Coyle said. \u201cYou\u2019re wondering whether I\u2019m going to try to take back that girl I love with all my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll admit the thought crossed my mind, lad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coyle grinned. \u201cAnd the answer is no. No, I\u2019m not. First of all, she\u2019s not that girl anymore. Second, you\u2019re a great guy. Yeah, yeah, the Guild and all that. You\u2019re in charge of it; it\u2019s not a surprise to me. You\u2019re still a great guy and you\u2019ve given her what she wanted and needed. A family. A real family. And she\u2019s married to you. Not me.\u201d He nodded, as if to reinforce that truth to himself.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not exactly a stand-up sort of guy, Bryn, but I have my standards, and that\u2019s one of them. That\u2019s a line I won\u2019t cross. So you can quit worrying about it. Not gonna happen. Besides, I want you to take care of her as long as you can. Gods only know I\u2019m not up to the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brynjolf stared at the Redguard who looked so much older than he actually was, and sighed. If not for some other, probably equally-dubious choices, he also would look much older than his real age. Instead, he looked younger.<\/p>\n

And those are some years I can never have back again.<\/em><\/p>\n

He held out his hand to shake Coyle\u2019s. He had no doubt that the man had said exactly what he meant, and what he intended.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve more than proven yourself around here, lad. I\u2019m impressed. And I\u2019m sorry to have raised doubts.\u201d I hope she\u2019ll forgive me for raising them.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, well it\u2019s behind us now. Let\u2019s see how much product we can make tonight, what do you say?\u201d<\/p>\n

Brynjolf felt himself breaking into a slow grin. \u201cThat sounds like a good plan to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I still can\u2019t believe this.<\/em><\/p>\n

Shadowmere walked sedately along the snowy road. It was an unusually slow gait for the daedric horse but it matched Sayma\u2019s mood. Shadowmere somehow always knew how she was feeling and reflected that. And right now, they were moving with the deliberate speed of someone in deep thought.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t believe I never figured out what Brynjolf was up to all this time. Or Ulfric. Now I understand why the two of them had their heads together so often. I suppose Bryn is right, really. Frina\u2019s been able to work wonders with that extra money. A lot of these smaller places didn\u2019t even have defenses before the war; now they do, and they have refurbished buildings, and it\u2019s all because she is as stubborn as I am and Ulfric has the funds to back her plans up. I should have known, but I didn\u2019t. I spent my time on the Brotherhood, and the children, and mostly ignored what was going on with the Guild.<\/em><\/p>\n

And now Coyle is back in the picture. <\/em><\/p>\n

It had been a big enough shock to see him that she\u2019d fainted dead away for a few moments. She frowned. It had been awkward enough trying to explain to Brynjolf why she\u2019d fainted without Coyle spilling the uncomfortable truth about his surname. Then, after Brynjolf had left, there\u2019d been that moment in the gazebo.<\/p>\n

Her frown deepened. It didn\u2019t matter how determined she was, there had been that moment, when he\u2019d blurted out the fact that he still loved her, when she\u2019d had a tendril of doubt in herself. It was the same doubt she\u2019d had when Roggi had come to Honeyside just before her wedding to Brynjolf. The worst of it was that she\u2019d acted on that doubt about Roggi, and she\u2019d only known him for a short time at that point. She\u2019d been deeply in love with Coyle for years, as a young woman, and she\u2019d mourned his loss ever since she left him on Stros M\u2019Kai. The truth of the matter was that in spite of what she\u2019d told her husband, she wasn\u2019t entirely sure there hadn\u2019t been a deeper meaning to her choice of surname. He didn\u2019t look the same now, and that was a relief. Otherwise, there might have been a temptation\u2026<\/p>\n

She shook her head and sighed. Shadowmere, echoing her emotions, tossed his mane and snorted.<\/p>\n

No. The fact that he\u2019s alive is shocking enough. To think that he\u2019s making skooma for Bryn is\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

She tsk\u2019d, and shook her head again.<\/p>\n

But what am I going to do with Bryn? <\/em><\/p>\n

It was beyond frustrating. He\u2019d been so confident when she\u2019d first met him. Confident but prickly, with a wall between himself and the world that was nearly impossible to breach. Once she\u2019d gotten over that wall, though, he\u2019d slowly begun to show her how vulnerable he really was inside. Not weak \u2013 never weak, except perhaps for the short period of time Roggi had told her about, just after she\u2019d run away from Riften. Brynjolf had always been strong and determined, but seemingly convinced that nobody ever truly cared for him. That was his biggest vulnerability.<\/p>\n

I really thought we\u2019d gotten past that, long ago. And I\u2019m sure learning who \u201cCoe\u201d really is has stirred it all up again. At least Coyle can\u2019t follow me here. I don\u2019t think he would, anyway. He made himself very clear; he\u2019s not here to get between us. He\u2019s always been very straightforward that way. <\/em><\/p>\n

Besides. He can\u2019t follow me where I\u2019m about to go.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The sun hadn\u2019t completely set, but the newly-risen moon glinted through thin, icy clouds as they approached the cabin up on the hillside near Dawnstar. It had been a long time since she\u2019d spent any significant amount of time in it; but Babette made sure to send one of her thralls in, every so often, to clean up the dust and keep things in order.<\/p>\n

Sayma fed and settled Shadowmere in his stable and then went indoors. She spent a few minutes building up a fire to warm the place up and then sat nearby to watch while it established itself.<\/p>\n

It was much quieter inside than she remembered, the light much dimmer and the atmosphere far less inviting than it had been when she and Chip had lived here together. She smiled, thinking of the months with the tiny redheaded boy squalling, and then learning how to walk. How tense it had been while he learned to avoid the precarious descent to the rooms below, and the triumphant squeaks of a tiny lad once he\u2019d learned how to navigate the stairs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

And now he\u2019s grown into a fine young man. I wish he didn\u2019t keep to himself quite so much but that\u2019s understandable. He\u2019s older than Qara and Harald, and he\u2019s so much younger than Dar and Roggi\u2019s girls; he\u2019s always been sort of a lone wolf. As long as he\u2019s happy. Now if we could just get Qara established. But she\u2019s got too much of me in her to just happily take up the role of housewife. We both have other priorities.<\/em><\/p>\n

She watched the flames dancing in the fireplace until the first of the logs cracked in two and settled, down into place as fuel for the rest of the day. She added a few more sticks, so that the place would be toasty warm when she returned.<\/p>\n

Different priorities, to be certain.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ll never understand it. I don\u2019t know why it became so important to me to kill people. Dar thinks it has something to do with our father, and that\u2019s about the only thing that makes any sense to me. We have something in our blood. That\u2019s what Jine told me. Something that sets us apart from others. Dar, and now Qara. And me, I guess. It seems to have passed Chip by, and that\u2019s a relief.<\/em><\/p>\n

But I\u2019m just wasting time sitting here. I\u2019d better go get this over with. My priorities have changed, and the longer I spend not acting on them, the more miserable it will be when I finally do.<\/em><\/p>\n

She left her cabin and collected Shadowmere again, riding him down the road toward Dawnstar and then veering off to the left. It wouldn\u2019t do for anyone who might possibly have followed her to see her passing along the boardwalk in Dawnstar and then disappearing around the corner of the headlands. It was hard enough to keep the Sanctuary concealed as it was.<\/p>\n

It had also been hard to keep the long-since boarded up side entrance hidden from the workers who built the new defenses Queen Frina had insisted on for the town. They\u2019d planted a few more bushes around it so that nobody saw anything but a clump of trees and shrubs. Once the town walls and gates had been laid, though, the entrance was even better hidden than before. It was nestled behind a boulder and behind Dawnstar\u2019s stone walls, and surrounded by trees, and deep-set enough that one almost had to know it was there to find it at all. Once a person had climbed down it and made her way through the frozen passages beneath she could emerge into the Sanctuary\u2019s main dining area.<\/p>\n

Sayma did just that. Nazir was sitting at the table, as usual, but facing away from her; he didn\u2019t turn to look. She had no doubt that he heard her enter, but Nazir\u2019s ears were keen and he knew the sound of her passage. To the right, a short corridor and a flight of stairs led down to a chamber where the shadows cast by the rope-and-plank bridge above never failed to trigger her memories of following Cicero. She\u2019d been tasked to kill him, then, but had spared him and taken on the role of dispensing death to others, instead.<\/p>\n

Her own private quarters were at the end of the passage just beyond the eerie shadows, past the chambers where other members of the Brotherhood slept at night or, in Babette\u2019s case, during the day. She looked around the space, sighing. There were so many memories associated with this room, most of them memories of fear and regret. Fear that she\u2019d been pregnant, and alone, not certain about her baby\u2019s father and responsible for this dark organization. Regret that she\u2019d left Brynjolf and the Guild behind. Regret that she\u2019d been stupid enough to be in that situation to begin with.<\/p>\n

But it worked out. It really did. It wasn\u2019t easy, and a lot of the time it hurt, but we worked it out.<\/em><\/p>\n

She withdrew a key from a pocket and unlocked the chest at the foot of the bed. Lifting its lid, she reached inside and pulled out a stack of dark cloth, laying it on the bed. She smiled down at it, grimly, and then set about the task of removing her armor and donning the robes she always stored here in the Sanctuary.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The robes of the Black Hand.<\/p>\n

It was an old tradition, hundreds of years old. Originally there had been one Listener and four Speakers, each of whom had a Silencer \u2013 an elite assassin who carried out the Night Mother\u2019s wishes as conveyed through the Listener and the Speakers. By the time Sayma had joined the organization catastrophe after catastrophe had struck. Only a few individuals remained, including Cicero, Babette and Nazir, along with the others who later perished in flames at the Falkreath Sanctuary. It hadn\u2019t been until much, much later that the three of them \u2013 four, if they included Cicero\u2019s lucid moments – had determined that the man they\u2019d recruited as Andante had been one of the youngest-ever Silencers in Cyrodiil. To the best of her knowledge, he never had remembered that about himself. All of the pieces fit, though. He hadn\u2019t worn these robes. He\u2019d had his own black robes, and a hood that obscured everything about his face. He was gone now, too, and had been for a long time. The Brotherhood was thriving again, but of those she\u2019d met originally, only three were left.<\/p>\n

She pulled her own hood up over her hair and sighed again.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re just stalling, Sayma. Go take care of this. She\u2019s waiting.<\/em><\/p>\n

She nodded to herself and left the chambers, passing along the shadows and up the curved staircase that led to the bridge that cast them. It was time.<\/p>\n

Time to approach the Night Mother.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

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Home Previous \/ Next   Brynjolf stared, not quite focusing, at the table, while sampling the air. It was constantly damp here, just as it was constantly damp in the Ragged Flagon and the Cistern. He\u2019d learned to taste the difference between simply musty stones and moldy ones after so many years of living with … <\/p>\n

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