Northbound Pilgrimage II

Chapter LXXXIX - Rise Up

"Are you alright?"

Aeyrin whispered quietly under her breath.

She wasn't even sure why she was whispering, but it seemed appropriate. Their entire journey had been so strangely tense and silent. Maybe it was suddenly dawning on everyone what was going to happen. How bad this brash action could turn out. She really hoped that Karliah hadn't disposed of her rational and careful tendencies entirely, but... she still looked so angry. It was a familiar sight for Aeyrin. She knew what it meant when the rage took over. And she knew how badly it could ruin things.

Her question was directed at Raven. The only time when any one of them talked was when they picked him up from Shor's Stone and explained what happened. After that, there was silence again. Karliah marched resolutely in front of all of them with Bishop trailing closely behind her and Raven and Aeyrin traipsing after them in the back. It wasn't very surprising that Raven was silent of course. It was much more concerning to see the constant scowl on his face in place of the usual charming smile.

Raven's eyes stopped focusing dead ahead for a second and he turned his gaze towards Aeyrin. He smiled and nodded slowly, but as convincing as Raven could be in his line of work, this time she wasn't convinced at all.

She didn't know what to say. She wanted to talk about what was happening, about how this just might have been a bad idea, but to be fair, she wasn't even sure if it was. This was exactly what she had been thinking about doing for a long time now. But they said it was too dangerous, too careless. The Guild members wouldn't go along with it and a lot of innocent lives would get caught in the middle. Why did those concerns suddenly not matter? Would Mercer really act so fast that they had to ambush him at the Guild? She asked Karliah before why they couldn't wait until Mercer left the Ratway and figure out how to take care of him less publicly, but Karliah was convinced that the Guild would be seething about this. They would suspect Karliah instantly and they would probably try to exact revenge or never cooperate with her as the best case scenario. They would never absolve Aeyrin of the bounty and they would continue to fight Karliah's network every step of the way. Karliah wanted to be involved with the Guild no matter what and she wanted to kill Mercer no matter what. So she was adamant about barging in and trying to convince as many of them as possible – that an uprising was the way to go.

That was the end of the discussion. Karliah had been curt and irritated by every question and Aeyrin stopped asking them very soon.

Maybe Karliah was right. It would be over soon. All the trouble with the bounty and everything that Mercer had done to her and Bishop would be in the past. Maybe it was for the best to finish this.

Why did Aeyrin still feel like she needed reassurance?

She fixed her eyes at the back of Karliah's head. The Dunmer didn't even look as if she was paying attention to anything but the road dead ahead. She wouldn't probably even notice if a dragon landed right in front of her.

"This... this is a good idea, right?" Aeyrin muttered almost silently again. She didn't know why she even asked. If anyone had doubts, they would stop this excruciatingly silent march, wouldn't they?

Raven smiled at her again and nodded. This time it looked a little bit more convincing, but he could probably see that it still wasn't enough. He promptly reached towards his belt and took a small notepad and a sharpened piece of charcoal into his hands. He was always ready. He had really adapted so well. He was even prepared to write on the go.

She waited anxiously while Raven scribbled onto his notepad. The words turned out very squiggly and messy, but she could still read them somewhat comprehensibly.

.

Karliah always knows what she's doing. This is the best option we have now. She wouldn't put us all and the Guild members in such danger if she thought there was a better alternative. Mercer needs to be stopped. And we will finally stop him now.