Not Alone (A Skyrim Fanfiction)

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

     The captain of the Northern Maiden was thrilled to be sailing back to Skyrim, but he was less thrilled when he realized his passengers were three master thieves.  The crew soon found out as well and looked at us askance, watching us out of the corner of their eyes.  If anything, be it bread or necklace, went missing we were automatically blamed.  It was too bad that he had recognized Brynjolf, but there wasn’t much any of us could do about it.  His red hair made him distinctive, and he had a reputation across the Nine Holds that could rival my own.  I tried to keep an even lower profile than he did as a thief, since it would do great damage to my own status among the Stormcloaks and Jarls.  No one outside the Thieves’ Guild itself knew I was the Dragonborn.

     With the crew glaring at us whenever we were on deck and Gjalund himself popping up everywhere we went, there wasn’t much time for private conversations.  One night I stood at the rail, staring out over the sea.  It was placid and calm in the moonlight, and I wished my life could reflect the sea.  Without looking I felt Vex come up and stand beside me.  She had seemed preoccupied lately, and not for the same reason as me.

     “Vex, what happened with the Guild?” I asked her.     

     She was silent for a few heartbeats.  “Brynjolf said we should wait until we reach port to tell you.”

     Typical Brynjolf.  “I’m the Guildmaster.  Whatever it is, I need to know now.”  I don’t know if they expected me to fly to pieces under pressure, but now that I was no longer in pain every second I could think clearly once more. 

     “Delvin got caught.”

     Wow.  Once she decided to tell you something she didn’t mince words.  It was never good for a thief to get caught, but the Guild could almost always bail him out or else the thief would break out by himself.  He would have to lay low for a while, but I didn’t see what was so bad about this.  “So?  The old fox can just break out, can’t he?”

     “They’re executing him in Solitude in three days.”

     My stomach dropped down like my legs had been cut out from under me.  “What?”  Unless he had gotten caught stealing something like the High King’s crown, I didn’t understand how he could be executed.

     “He went on a job to steal something from the East Empire Trading Company.  The job was a setup, he got caught, and the EETC convinced the captain of the guard in Solitude to make an example of him.”  Her voice didn’t so much as hitch, but I knew how she felt about Delvin. 

     “You haven’t tried to get him out?”  Even as I said this I flinched.  Of all the stupid things to say….

     “You think we haven’t?  They have him under guard around the clock.  We’re thieves, not fighters.”  She didn’t raise her voice, but her eyes flashed angrily.

     And I was a fighter and a thief, thus they had come to me.  My brain raced through the possibilities.  It would take almost another day to reach Skyrim, then another two to reach Solitude.  By then I would have no time to observe the jail and the watches carefully like I normally would, and I’d rather rescue Delvin with time to spare.  Then there was the matter of how to rescue him.  I could only do so much as a thief without being pegged as the Dragonborn, and anyway, one man could only do so much against a horde of guards.  I was a good fighter, but not that good, and then I would be so notorious that the bounty might even extend to other Holds. 

     But then, there was another option.  I could go to High King Ulfric Stormcloak and call for that favor he owed me.  But if I did that, there was no possible way I could keep myself from being discovered as the Guildmaster, and not even Ulfric could simply allow a known master thief walk freely, no matter past services rendered.  I thought about bribing the captain of the guard, but surely Vex and Brynjolf had already tried that.