Northbound Pilgrimage II

Chapter CXL - Silence Dies

At last.

He killed that old woman like he was instructed to. He didn't even get to see the fallout. He had to disappear instantly. He was sure that his father's men would be there soon to see the deed for themselves. He knew that reinforcements were stationed in the cities by now. He was beyond their reproach, but he shouldn't be seen where he wasn't supposed to be.

His cover on the outside wasn't perfect – he was missing an important assignment right now, but he had plans for that. It all depended on how things would go now though. After all, nobody was going to help him with his cover stories. It was all on him. He was expected to perform. To impress. And he was going to fucking wow them.

Everything would be handled eventually. His absence could become his advantage after all, provided he wasn't seen by the agents elsewhere.

At least for now, he still had the resources of the common soldiers. Those were never told about anything that concerned the Penitus Oculatus. Those issues were highly classified. But the agents stationed in the cities, sent there specifically to watch for assassins, those could become a problem.

Gaius needed to be wary. And he needed to escape right after the deed.

He went all across Skyrim again – back to Pinefrost Tower. This time he traveled more covertly, but it was necessary. The assassins would come back soon with more instructions for him.

It wasn't the end of his trials. Not by a long shot.

Nobody was impressed with his work. It was expected. Actually, a betrayal was expected. This was just... prolonging the inevitable to them. They didn't trust him even a little bit and he couldn't really blame them. The Commander's son – he couldn't be more suspicious. But he would earn their trust eventually.

And so he worked on that.

The second kill did feel a little different. It made him a little sick. He had done plenty of things that others would be squeamish about in the name of the Empire, but cutting down a lonesome madman hermit felt... strange. Maybe because he never before killed anyone this harmless. Gaius couldn't fathom who would pay the Brotherhood to get rid of such a person.

He made it quick at least. He was probably more merciful than anyone else would be.

The third kill was more like the second one – some miner woman in Dawnstar. He always heard stories of the Brotherhood dealing with important people, influential ones with plenty of protection around them. He never thought that people would hire them to kill every small fish that managed to piss someone off.

Yet here he was.

He did what was asked of him without question though. He followed all the orders, made all the kills, left all the handprints that Babette wanted. Word of their activities would spread soon with those prints there. It was inevitable. Soon people would know that the Brotherhood was going to be on the rise.

It mattered not. What he was there for was still a far-off goal. He wasn't even allowed to speak to the Night Mother until he proved himself more.

It took five kills. Five like the tenets? Maybe. He wasn't sure. But after those five kills, they finally agreed to take him out of the tower and into their Sanctuary.

He was elated. He couldn't wait. He kept imagining what this place could be like. And he would get to meet them all – each and every one of them. So far, he had only met Astrid, that glowering man he didn't know, Babette and Nazir – the man bringing him information about his 'contracts'. It took too long for anything to be done. So damn long. The assassins were clearly stationed nowhere near the Pinefrost Tower because it took ages for them to return. They said they would check on him twice a week, but sometimes that wasn't the case.