The Ebony Renegades (Skyrim)

chapter seventeen

(Shadow-step pov)

I rode northwest towards the twilight sepulcher the temple of Nocturnal to tend to some personal matters I arrived about six to eight hours later I could tell by looking at the position of the moon. It was just coming up over the west when left to the group and now it was about a fist and a half looking from my outstretched arm. I had my horse wait outside as I entered the temple of Nocturnal I entered the primary cave chamber where four pillars alight with a purple fire lead up a staircase to a large circular purple portal which brought me to the twilight sepulcher inner sanctum. The skeleton key is still in its place in the jade circle surrounded by the three circles of Lady Nocturnal's nightingale agents. The crescent moon which was my sign, was the agent of shadow, the next was the half moon for the agent of subterfuge, and the full moon for the agent of strife. I kneeled above my sign and bowed my head as I tried to beckon lady Nocturnal to answer my call. "Lady Nocturnal, please forgive me for summoning you, but I desperately wish to speak with you right now." A torrent of a subtle aura burst out in the shapes of ravens as Lady Nocturnal appeared before me I respectfully kept my head lowered until she had given permission to meet her gaze.

"Ah, Shadow-step, it has been some time I wasn't expecting any visitors, you may raise your head." She spoke in that stern yet motherly tone I had gotten to know when I first heard her in nightengale hall when Karliyah brought me and Brynjolf to become Nightingales and again when I brought her skeleton key from Mercer Frey. As Karliyah had phrased it. ' like a scolding mother continually pushing you harder to be successful outwardly sounding angry, but silently content'. "Indeed it has been Lady Nocturnal, I humbly thank you for taking the time to speak with me." I said as I looked up at her after getting her permission to look up. She was just like how she was when I first met her face to face, her dark blue silken robes were adorned with magnificent gold trim with silvery markings along the shoulders and down the front of the robes exposing a generous view of her cleavage but I dared not stare or else those ravens would pluck my eyes from my skull before I could blink.

" I imagine you have things on your mind?" I nodded as her ravens perched on the crook of her arms. "The first I must ask, why were myself and Brynjolf not called when your temple was under attack and why was Karliyah the only one here? " I asked in a respectful manner as she nodded before speaking " Karliyah wanted to do it on her own as she felt she had not paid her debt to me in full so she protected the temple with everything she had and she defeated the thalmor invaders before succumbing to her injuries." Nocturnal said. "I see, did she earn her place in the evergloam?" I asked as a few stray tears hit the ground. " Indeed she did," she said as I took a moment to compose myself. " I-is, her body still here?" I asked because if her body was still here I was going to bury her. " Indeed, she's right over there sitting against the corner behind her sign." She said as she prepared to return to the ebonmere. " Thank you, lady Nocturnal for answering my call, if you ever need anything please don't hesitate to summon me." I said as I bowed my head as her magnificent form returned to her realm. once she was gone I went to the corner my heart sank when I saw Karliyah's body leaning against the wall before I picked her lifeless body up I pulled out the arrows that were in her torso, hip, and legs. As I carried her bridal style as I complied with her wish and buried her next to Gallus within the temple I placed two septims over her eyes as I placed a fancy blanket over her and before I buried her I decided to give her a few words before her burial. " Karliyah, I'm sorry I couldn't have been at your side when you needed me like you were when I needed you. I wish you could hear me." I said as I finished burying her before I felt a presence behind me I spun around with my nightingale bow and one of the enhanced ice arrows trained on my targets but my eyes widened when I saw Karliyah's ghost and I placed the arrow in the quiver and put my bow back on my back. " I am happy to see you found my gift for you Shadow-step" Karliyah said as she stood across from me. " Indeed, and so did our fellow nightingale Brynjolf. We also fulfilled your wish and distributed the loot among the members of the guild." I said trying to stop my emotions from taking over but Karliyah quickly proved that even in death her keen eye for detail was as sharp as ever then within a blink of an eye she was mere inches from me and her ghostly hand was placed lightly on my shoulder. " I know you feel like you failed me, but you need to understand that I chose my fate and now I and Gallus are reunited in the evergloam. You have nothing to be sorry for my friend." She said looking me in the eye with her hand resting on my shoulder. "It's just if it wasn't for you, I'd have been dead from Mercer Fray's treachery, I wouldn't have become a Nightengale, and I'd still be a novice thief." I said as she sighed her eyes locked onto mine as she nodded before her neutral expression softened. "Alright, if you wanna make us even, I'm going to ask three things of you, you do these and we're even, deal?" She asked with a soft smile " So we have an agreement, what are your requests?" I asked if there was anything I could do to repay her for all she had done for me I'd hitchhike through all the plains of oblivion if she requested me to. "First things first, bring glory to the nightingales and the thieves guild. Second, steal from the wealthiest and the most secure places to remind all of Tamriel that the thieves guild is the one holding the cards. And lastly, take care of yourself and always live your life in a manner where you can hold your head up high, do this and we're square." She said as her smile was warm and welcoming the same smile I had come to know I nodded at her words before she surprised me by pulling me into an embrace which I gently returned. " So how are things with you and Gallus? I hope the two of you are getting along well." I asked as she gently moved back. "We are doing fine, in fact, We've been watching over you and your group for a while now,  after all as you walk with the shadows so are we with you." She said giving me a small smile. " Well granted most of the group is a bunch of nut jobs but they watch out for each other. " I said as I looked at my old friend. " If you don't mind, I'd like you to tell me a little bit about them, I want to get to know them as well." She said which honestly surprised me as she wasn't much of a social butterfly but I nodded and obliged my friend's wish.

"Well first let's start with the boss, he's a dark elf and a very level-headed leader he's always watching out for everyone and always taking the lion's share of the burden that we have to deal with, he will take time out of his day to listen to you if you have something on your mind. He's cool and calm and there is nothing you can say to him that once he sees you as his friend he will cover your back until his dying breath." I said as Karliyah nodded for me to continue. " Next is Asadelf, she is a former thalmar and is now working with us to get rid of them. Although she is a high elf she does not have their trademark supremacist attitude, in fact, she is very kind and respectful and just like the boss more than willing to put her life on the line for any one of us." I say as Karliyah smiles and I continue " Now we get to Gila, she is a wood elf and an excellent hunter and Scout, in terms of her skill with a bow I think she could even outshoot you, even though she is a werewolf she is very in control of her beastial nature and will only let it loose when she's angry or she's protecting us." Karliyah giggled a little at the wood elf's archery talent outshooting her. " Next up is Severin, he's an argonian and is an assassin from the Dark Brotherhood, he's quite similar to you in terms of tactics strike your enemy from afar and take them out before they know you're there. Although he is very reserved most of the time he bares his suffering in silence and focuses the frustration on the here and now. Myra, lianya, Severin, Gila, and I are The Archers of the team." She nodded and motioned with her hands for me to continue. "Next up we have Tully our Bloodknight, he is a vampire lord and is the direct descendant of the former queen of solitude Potema also called The Wolf Queen. He is a master of necromancy and it has proven to be very reliable when backed up into a corner his blood magic and his instincts have saved us on more than one occasion." I sat down and continued telling her. " Myra is our Knight of Fortune, she's a pro with her blades katana, and shield, as well as her silver crossbow, and true to her last name she has a very silver tongue which allows her to get discounts on nearly anything she's also a professional actress she's formally a silver hand as well as a Vigilant of stendar but when they ordered her to hunt and kill her own cousin Tully she turned on them and now she's with us. She is a very humble person and a pro with illusion magic if she finds a beggar on the street she will give them an entire coin purse to help them get back on their feet. Her mother, father, and uncle were members of the blades and the thalmor killed them." Karliyah was nodding " Even though I was a thief, I often donated to those in poverty" she said. " And next of course we have our knight of chaos, Suvvan now that nord has some serious issues, he is crazy and eccentric not to mention loud and brash but in the middle of a fight he's one of the best people to have at your side even though he makes some very terrible jokes and puns in the middle of a bloodbath not to mention his crazy cheese obsession but what do you expect from the champion of the prince of madness himself? All in all, he's a great guy and we would never replace him even if he can be a bit of a headache at times. Next is Sabrina, she is a dual-wielding, swashbuckling, fuck with me I'll cut you to pieces pirate. The only thing she loves more than a good bloodbath is alcohol, I swear that redguard can't get drunk but I digress while she may seem cold and brash on the outside she is very protective and is always watching our backs. Next up we have our dwemer mechanic Gentu. He used to work for the Dawnguard as the mechanic engineer, now he's been through literally all the dwemer ruins in Skyrim that we know of and right now we are working on developing the very first dwarven pickaxe, he is our paladin he is often in the back with Asadelf and me using his healing magic to keep everyone in top physical shape and blocking from oncoming attacks. Next is Yamma, he's our main heavy hitter he's also an excellent blacksmith but if there's one thing he doesn't tolerate its racism and cruelty towards those who can't protect themselves once you get to know him he's a great guy. and last but certainly not least are the latest additions to our little group they are both falmer first is Lianya who's a snow elf who specializes with ice magic and is very observant meanwhile her brother is a mutant of chorus and falmer. While he is completely blind he relies on echolocation to navigate, his sister, however, does not it seems her eyesight is much better than normal although we just met them those two are two of the most incredible individuals we've ever met." I decided to get ready to return to my group. " Farewell my friend, I wish you all the best." I said as I bowed my head to her before she disappeared she spoke the familiar saying of the nightingales. " Walk with the shadows nightingale." I left the temple feeling the weight on my shoulders was less as I rode my horse back towards cracked tusk keep three hours away.