#can ley you all kill my poor rat

[muxas-world2]

Marry fuck and kill? Academy version

[actuallykiwi]

Once a Thief... Chapter 8: Scoundrel’s Folly

“That symbol is still eluding us... it would seem our adversary is attempting to take us apart indirectly by angering Maven Black-Briar.. very clever...” Mercer grumbled as he sat behind his desk across from Cimber. “You admire them?” she asked. 

“Don’t mistake my admiration for complacency. Our nemesis is going to pay dearly.” He growled and stabbed a dagger onto the table. A chill went through her. “How?” 

“Well, even after all their posturing and planning, they’ve made a mistake. The parchment you recovered mentions a “Gajul-Lei’. That’s an old alias used by one our contacts. His real name is Gulum-Ei. Slimy bastard.” He yanked the knife out of the wood and flipped it upwards. “So where do I begin?” She asked, knowing he was about to send her off somewhere. 

Mercer eyed her contemplatively. “Gulum-Ei is our inside man at the East Empire Company in Solitude. I’m betting he acted as a go-between for the sale of Goldenglow Estate and that he can finger our buyer. Get out there and shake him down. See Brynjolf before you leave if you have any questions.” Cimber nodded. “We’ll figure this out. We won’t be in this rut for much longer,” she said reassuringly. 

He traced his blade thoughtfully and glanced up at her. “We’ll see.” 

Cimber explained all that Mercer had said to Brynjolf. “I can’t believe Gulum-Ei’s mixed up in all this.” “Think he’ll give me trouble?” she asked him. “Trouble? He’s one of the most stubborn lizards I’ve ever met! You’ve got your work cut out for you.” He grinned at her apologetically. 

“Go with me then! You can help me convince him.” she offered. “I’d love to, but if he saw both of us there, he’d get suspicious. I’ll go with you on a job one of these days.” He reassured her, and she smiled back. 

“Anyways, you might have to buy him off; it’s the only way to get his attention. If that fails, follow him and see what he’s up to.” She grinned slyly. “I didn’t have to buy you off to get your attention.”  

Brynjolf chuckled and flushed slightly, poking her forehead. “Because you did a job for me. And other reasons I’ll get to later...” Now it was his turn to show his mischievous grin. She laughed. “Riiight. Well, I suppose I should get going then if I want to make it by tomorrow noon.” 

“Aye, lass. Be careful out there, there’s no telling what Gulum-Ei’s up to.” He called to her as she passed. 

“Only one way to find out!”

A night stroll, a cart ride, and a very long nap later, Cimber looked up at the giant capitol city resting neatly above the cliffs. The sun was covered by misty white clouds, and a light snow was falling. She shivered as the carriage stopped at the stables and she jumped off. “Now, where to find that argonian...” She asked herself as she entered the city. Bustling streets, giant stone walls, and guards at ever corner were things she was not used to seeing. It would be hard to pick some pockets here without being caught. She took in all the sights of the busy market, glimpsed the great Blue Palace up on its hill, smelled some kind of sweet-smelling mead in the air... 

And watched an executioner chop off the head of a gate guard. She grimaced and went on her merry way. Welcome to Solitude, Cimber. But why was he killed for just doing his job...? She would have to ponder later, because she walked into the Winking Skeever Inn and found her guy. She patted her braid down and dusted herself off before approaching him. 

“Hello, there.” Cimber gave him a winning smile, and he eyed her thoughtfully. “Hello... hmm. By your scent, I’d say you were from the Guild. But that can’t be true because I told Mercer I wasn’t dealing with them anymore.” he shook his head. “Well, I’m here about Goldenglow Estate...” she offered. 

“I don’t deal in land or property. Now, if you’re looking for goods, you’ve come to the right place...” Cimber could smell a hint of alcohol in his breath, and watched closely as his eyes darted to the door almost imperceptibly. Oh, this guy knew something. She leaned up against the stone wall in front of him and crossed her arms. “You can drop the act now, Gajul-Lei.” 

Now his eyes were clearly anxious to seek something else out. “O-oh, wait, did you say Goldenglow Estate? My apologies. I’m sorry to say that I know very little about that.. bee farm, was it?” She raised an eyebrow. “You acted as a broker for its new owner.” 

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. I can’t be expected to remember every deal I handle.” He shrugged. “Come on, Gajul-Lei. Idenitfy the buyer and we’ll forget what we know.” She smiled at him promisingly, and even uncrossed her arms to show that she wasn’t crossing her fingers. She was also blocking his way to the door, and this made his heart quicken just a beat. 

The argonian cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “A-alright. Had I known the deal would be this much trouble, I never would have accepted the gold. I’ll tell you what I know: I was approached by a woman who wanted me to act as the broker for something big. She flashed a bag of gold in my face and said all I had to do was pay Aringoth for the estate. I brought him the coin and walked away with her copy of the deed.”

“Did she say why she was doing this?” Cimber asked, but he shook his head. “Not at all. However, I did notice she was quite angry, and it was being directed at Mercer Frey...”

She put a finger to her chin thoughtfully. “That’s it? No name or anything?” “In this business, we rarely deal in names: our identity comes from how much coin we carry.” 

She would have believed him if not for the bead of sweat dripping down his temple. “You’re lying to me.” She placed her arm on the wall by him and the other on her hip. “L-look, that’s all I know. I never promised you I’d have all the answers. Now, since our transaction is done, I’ll be on my way....” The slippery lizard stood, scooted around her, and practically bolted out the door, her eyes never leaving him. 

“Congratulations, Gulum-Ei, you now have a shadow.” She muttered and followed him out. 

Keeping her distance and diving into every available shadow every time he turned his head, he eventually lead her down to the docks and went into the warehouse. The snow had stopped, but now a brisk, biting wind was whistling around the boats, and by the time she reached the warehouse door, she couldn’t tell if she was shaking from nerves or the cold. The guards saw a young woman browsing the goods the Company had to sell, but when their backs were turned and the coast was clear, she very quickly picked the lock and rolled into the warehouse. 

Staying low and moving quietly, she crouched up a large wooden plank up to the top racks and scoped the area. She could barely see Gulum-Ei round the corner and make his away to the other side of the room. The thief watched from the shadows as he, strangely, dipped into a small pool and disappeared behind some barrels. 

Shadows protect me, she thought as she crawled over shelves, hid behind barrels, and dove through lit areas until she finally reached the pool he had gone through. Once again, she commanded her heart to slow down in fear of the guards not 3 feet away from her hearing her. When they continued their patrol, she climbed onto the small wooden railing and used the wooden beams above to swing herself behind the barrels. She almost gasped when her feet let out a small thud upon landing, but the guards seemed not to notice. Using this momentum, she snuck through until she found a hidden doorway in the rock, and immediately dove in. 

Once she was sure she was out of earshot, she allowed herself a quiet sigh of relief, then continued forward. She stopped when she heard voices and crouched closer for a better look. Two bandits were talking in front of a small pool of water, both male, one redguard, and the other a freakishly tall, blonde nord that looked like he could pick Cimber up with his pinky finger. She almost laughed to herself, though; these dummies were facing the wall, away from her. Perfect target practice. She nestled into a dark corner and shot the redguard down with an arrow in the back of the head. Big Nord grabbed his axe and started lumbering around the room, looking for the killer he was never going to catch. “Come out, you little rat!” He bellowed. 

Cimber scoffed. “Hey! I like to think I’m more of a cat, or.. oooh, an owl...” “Huh?” He looked around until he saw her, perched up a little higher than him. She grinned, and his big green eyes met hers before the arrow went between them. 

This went on for a while; she found a dark perch, readied her arrows, and sniped the poor, unsuspecting bandits that blocked her way to Gulum-Ei, collecting what little treasures they had along the way. Finally, she reached a large chamber with 3 of the toughest looking bandits and the argonian himself, lounging in a chair by the firepit. 

Stealth might not be the only option here. There’s too many and he could get away.... She weighed her options and crept closer, deciding to take out the one closest to her and then dealing with the other 2, quickly. Not even bothering to find a better perch, she shot down the bandit with a shield by the cave water. On cue, the others heard and readied their weapons, a worried Gulum-Ei now on his feet. 

“So sorry to be a bother, love, but I really need to know who that buyer is.” Cimber walked out of the shadows, wearing her trademark grin and twirling her dagger. 

The 2 bandits left laughed. “And we really need all that gold you’re carrying...” Before she could make another witty remark, the first one lunged for her and she rolled out of the way, snatching the shield from the dead bandit and jumping right back up. She blocked his next advance, and drove her dagger up his ribcage. She pushed him onto the other bandit, who surprised her by simply shoving him away and swinging very quickly with her sword, just grazing Cimber’s arm. “I just got this armor, really??” 

They grappled for a few seconds until Cimber finally let out a cry and gashed open the bandit’s chest. She looked up just in time to see Gulum-Ei trying to open a secret passageway. “Oh no you don’t!” With almost pinpoint accuracy, she threw her dagger and pinned him by his sleeve against the cave wall. His scared scream echoed as she darted up to him and slung him around, pinning him with her hand and her dagger now at his throat. “Talk.” 

He gulped. “N-now, now, there’s no need to do anything rash... This isn’t as bad as it seems, I-I was going to tell Mercer about everything, honestly! Please, he’ll have me killed!” He was almost quaking with fear. “Mercer doesn’t have to know...” She let him go but kept her dagger pointed at him. 

“I see you wish to be reasonable, perhaps I misjudged you... Karliah. The buyer’s name is Karliah.” Gulum-Ei sighed with relief but didn’t dare move with her dagger so close. “You say that name like I should know it.” 

“...Mercer never told you about her? She’s the thief responsible for murdering the previous Guild master, Gallus. Now she’s after Mercer..” 

“And you’re helping her?” “Help...? No, no! Look, I didn’t even know it was her until after she contacted me. Please, you have to believe me!” She studied him carefully. “Where is she now?” 

“I don’t know. When I asked her where she was going, she just muttered ‘where the end began’. Here, take the Goldenglow deed as proof. A-and when you speak to Mercer, tell him I’m worth more to you alive!” Cimber considered this, and flicked her blade up, causing him to flinch. 

“See? Now that wasn’t so hard, was it? Was all this really necessary?” She gestured around her. He simply shook his head and darted his eyes toward the passageway. She sighed. “Get out of here.” He nodded and quite gratefully did so. 

After looting the place of its valuables and tying a makeshift bandage around her arm, she exited as well. 

And things just keep getting more complicated. 

Previous

Next