That's Madness (a Skyrim fanfiction)

Chapter Eleven - Breaching Security

We found a bandit camp shortly and I had managed to loot a few arrows from the bandits. We wore their fur armour to keep warm and let our own shrouded armour dry by the campire. There were also warm bedrolls and food leftover from them. We napped and remained there until sometime after midnight and then we departed again. Veezara only had a vague idea of where we were headed and we arrived back at the Falkreath sanctuary in three days. Three days of hunting for our food, staying away from the roads and constantly watching our backs. 

Wearily, I push open the door to the Sanctuary and Veezara follows behind me. We walk slowly down the stone steps and Astrid is waiting for us. 

"Haha! The news is everywhere! Vittoria Vici, the Emperor's cousin, butchered at her own wedding! Let's see his eminence try to ignore this!" she greets us both happily. 

"Sithis has claimed a new soul," Veezara bows to Astrid, nods his head approvingly at me and then walks off into the Sanctuary, presumably to get some rest. 

Astrid turns to me with a gleam in her eyes. "With Vici's murder, you've started us down a path the Dark Brotherhood hasn't traveled in centuries: the assassination of an Emperor. But now, your reward. A unique spell to summon a legend of the Dark Brotherhood. His soul serves us now in death, as his body once did in life," she hands me a spell tome, and as I read it I feel its knowledge seep into me and the book slowly crumples into ash, as is standard. 

"Thank you, Astrid," I say gratefully. 

"Of course my dear. I was a little worried when people started spreading rumours saying they captured the assassin, but I did believe it was all just gossip. I knew you could handle yourself out there," Astrid says approvingly. "Now then. Time to proceed to the next stage of the plan. Go and speak with Gabriella once you've rested and eaten. She's been helping me arrange your next contract," Astrid dismisses me. 

I head off away from her and go the dorms. Veezara is curled up in his bed and I go to my dresser and find a plain warm tunic and some fur boots. I carry them into the washroom and I thoroughly bathe and scrub away the dirt and sweat from the past few days and I change into the tunic and boots. Then I find a pail of lavender water and I scrub my armour over the washbasin, in order to get the stench out from it. I check the armour over. Thanks to its numerous enchantments, it's still in pristine condition and hasn't even got a single tear. 

I hang the armour up and then crawl into my bed and fall fast asleep in moments. 

***

"I have seen some excellent assassinations carried out in my lengthy time as an assassin," Nazir remarks to me as I devour my breakfast the next morning. I slept all through the late afternoon, evening and woke up midafternoon. I look up at the small calendar Nazir bought for the kitchen and I realise with a shock that it's my birthday in a week and three days. "Yours is certainly ranked up in the excellent ones now,"

"Why thank you, Nazir," I smile at him. "And, of course, thank you for the breakfast," I stand up and walk towards the enchanting and alchemy lab where Babette and Festus are bickering as usual. Gabriella is sitting thoughtfully at the stone table there, reading something. I clear my throat and she looks up. 

"Well, hello there darling Sister," Gabriella smiles charmingly. "I've been waiting. I'm sure Astrid has told you to expect a contract from me?"

"She did," I nod my head. "What are the details?"

"Well, with the Emperor's arrival security is sure to be tighter here in Skyrim. The security is being handled by a certain Commander Maro. We are going to break him," Gabriella says calmly. 

"Alright. How do we go about doing that?"

"You're going to kill his son Gaius Maro and plant false evidence on him, suggesting that Gaius was involved in a plot to kill the Emperor," Gabriella explains. "This will accomplish two things: Maro will be weak and crushed and because the Penitis Occulatus think that they've already dealt with a murder plot, they wil let their guards down,"