The Bears Shortcoming

Chapter 3 - The Guild

(4E 201 14th of Frostfall)

I opened my eyes. The smell of sewage lingered in my nostrils, the air was heavy and humid and I could hear the sound of water around me. The thieves' guild.

I joined up with the guild after settling down in Riften, and now I was richer and happier than I'd ever been in my entire life. The guild wasn't only a way of making a heap of coin, I'd also made friends for life and now I had a second family to go home to every day. I adored it. The guild was set up in a huge sewer beneath the city, and although many citizens of Riften thought it was the bane of the town, I considered it home. The smell wasn't great but, you got used to it.

I woke up in my bed inside the guild; everyone was already up and getting ready to start a day of pick-pocketing nobles and raiding businesses. I slid on my leather guild armor, the buckles and pockets were perfect for storing valuables and hiding the occasional dagger. I walked over to Vex, my best friend and partner in crime; she had the usual miserable look on her face that caused everyone to misjudge her.

"Good morning sunshine" I said with a grin.

"Oh hey" Vex replied lazily "Do you want some work?"

I perched myself on a nearby crate "Yeah, what have you got?"

"I've got a job here in Riften, I want you to steal a jeweled candlestick from the blacksmiths, I've had my eye on it for a while...and if you've got the stomach for it I've been hearing that business is on the rise in the general store, so see if you can't get a few coins from their strongbox."

"Consider it done"

Vex grinned at me, "Don't be late!" she cooed after me "Brynjolf has a special job waiting for you when you get back!"

Brynjolf was second in command to the thieves' guild, he was the man who spotted me and recruited me for the guild in the first place. I owe him my life.

I exited the guild and walked around the city for a while, the leaves on the trees here stayed orange all year round, just like in Valenwood. I loved Riften, even if the people were a bit sour. 

When I moved here, I made the choice not to tell anybody I was the 'Dragonborn', it would have complicated things with the guild and I wanted people to view me as a normal person, not a superhero.

I made my way over to the blacksmiths' and said hello to the man working the forge, he was kind and I felt a pang of guilt for what I was about to do. I was a thief through and through, my elven blood made me light on my feet and my height made me easy to miss, but that didn't mean I had no conscience. I didn't want to steal from the old smith, but I had no choice, I'm not going to skip a meal tonight because I couldn't steal a candlestick. No way.

I slipped inside the blacksmiths home and closed the door with a soft click. There was a fire roaring and the blacksmiths apprentice was stirring a cooking pot only a few metres away from me. I stepped silently across the room praying that there were no loose floorboards. I went by unnoticed and flashed a wicked grin; I'm so good at this.

I made my way into one of the bedrooms; it was bare, with only a straw bed and a chest of drawers inside. I opened the drawers to find nothing but a pair of old boots and an apron. Someone could walk in any second, I needed to hurry up. I went into the second bedroom and my eyes lit up.

A safe. A beautiful, big, shiny safe.

I pulled out a pick from one of the many pockets in my armor and got to work on the lock. After 3 broken lock picks I managed to prise the safe open and there in front of me was the candlestick Vex was after. It was gold with gemstones on the outside, a thief's best friend. Next to the candlestick was a light purse of coins and I grinned. I snatched both and made my way out of the house after a job well done.

I remembered Vex's request to steal some money from the general store and I shrugged. I still had a few hours of daylight left so I took the back entrance into the general store and left with a bag of coins in a matter of minutes.

I made my way down into the sewer and strolled into the guild with a skip in my step and gold in my pockets. Vex was waiting for me inside.

"You took your sweet time" she said sarcastically.

"Shut up, here's your candlestick, and the money from the general store"

Vex put the candlestick away and split the gold with me. "You did well" she smiled.

"Don't get soft on me" I replied with a wink "Now what's special this job you were talking about?"

Vex's smile dropped and she looked at me with sympathy. "Aiden...you should go talk to Brynjolf".

I walked into the training room inside the guild and found Brynjolf sitting on a chest holding a coin purse and a letter.

"Come here lass" he said looking up at me, his accent was thick and low. His voice made me feel safe.

"What is it Brynjolf?" I demanded "Why is everyone looking at me like I'm going to die?"

Brynjolf handed me the letter.

AIDEN,

It is with great regret that we inform you of Maria's death.

The deceased has bequeathed unto you a measure of Inheritance

In the amount of 200 Gold pieces.

I froze up and re read the letter at least three times to check if I'd missed something, I looked up at Brynjolf and his bright green eyes flooded with sadness and sympathy for me. I looked back down at the letter again and tears fell uncontrollably from my eyes and smudged the ink on the paper.

My mother.

Brynjolf pulled me into a hug and I fell into him, "You'll be alright lass" he said reassuring me.

My sadness was replaced with anger and I looked at him sternly "Do you know how she died?"

"I've been hearing rumors that a few villages in Valenwood have been raided by the Thalmor...But don't do anything stupid Aiden. They're just rumors; I haven't seen any solid proof"

I glared at him and shoved the letter against his chest "Here's your damn proof" I hissed. 

My blood boiled in my veins and I wanted to kill every Thalmor son of a bitch that walked the earth, but I also had another family to protect. I stayed with Brynjolf that night and he reminded me that I had a family in him, Vex and everyone else in the guild.

"How are you feeling?" Brynjolf turned to me

"I don't know Bryn; she was my mother. And now she's gone and I don't have any family left"

Brynjolf smiled and wiped a tear from my eye "You have us lass" he said motioning to the rest of the room "We may just be band of thieves, but we sure as hell care about you".

I didn't take on any jobs for a few weeks, I spent most of my time sitting in the cistern reading, or practicing archery in the training room pretending the dummies were Thalmor soldiers.

(4E 201 29th of Frostfall)

I decided it was time to stop pondering and take a job. I strolled through the cistern over to Brynjolf and he grinned as he saw me approaching.

"Decided to go back out into the big wide world eh lass?"

"Do you have a job for me Bryn?"

"Aye lass, I've been saving a very special assignment for you. Received it from a mystery client who's paying us a lot of coin to get this item. I'm sending you to Windhelm".