Shadows Preserve Us

Chapter 5: Scoundrel's Folly

Almeta POV
I think this is the first time I have ever seen Brynjolf not grinning or smirking. He walks quickly towards me and gets in my face. "You call this being careful! You look like you went toe to toe with a bandit clan single handed. Why haven't you healed yet? There is no way you are still drained of magicka after coming all the way from Whiterun!" "First of all, there were enough skeevers in that damned brewery to out number a bandit clan plus a magical maniac. Secondly, all of this happened just outside Riften not on the job. So yeah, still drained at the moment." He seems shocked for a second, and then I realize what I just said. "What do you mean this happened just outside?! What happened? Who did this?" I cringe, not wanting to tell Brynjolf in front of everyone, about what happened in Windhelm. "It's nothing Brynjolf. I took care of it. I am not going to talk about it! I am going to go talk with Mercer, have to tell him what I found." I walk past Brynjolf and leave the silent flagon. As I walk, I feel my magicka return and I begin healing myself. I enter the cistern and walk straight to Mercer's desk. By the time I get to his desk, I have completely healed myself. I tell him about the matching mark on the papers I found. "I have consulted my contacts, but no one knows who this mark might symbolize." "So what do we do now? Sounds like we have no leads to follow." His scowl darkens, if that were possible, and says " I did not say that. They made a mistake. The papers from Goldenglow mention a Gajul-Lei. This is an old alias for one of our contacts. His real name is Gulum-Ei, slimy bastard." " I know what you are going to say, I'll go pay him a visit tomorrow. Where is he?" " You can find him in Solitude. He is our inside man at the East Empire Company. Talk to Brynjolf if you have any questions." It is a clear dismissal, so I turn to leave. I see Brynjolf standing in the middle of the cistern, looking at me. I walk over to him, hoping that he won't bring up what happened outside Riften again. "You should really start carrying magicka potions. If you keep coming in here hurt that bad, you'll send me to Sovngarde early." "Why Brynjolf, I didn't know you cared so much!" We both laugh a bit and the tension quickly disappears. "In all seriousness lass, please heal yourself before I find you next time." "Ok, ok Brynjolf. I will. Now, back to business." He quickly becomes all business. "Where is he sending you off to this time lass?" "To talk to a Gulum-Ei. Apparently he is involved in this mess." Brynjolf quickly gives me some information on the guy. "He sounds like a treat. At least it sounds easy. Bribe the guy and move on." Knowing my luck though, it is going to become a lot more complicated. I decide it is probably a better idea to just head out tonight. "Well, I am going to head out. Best to just get it over with." Brynjolf looks at me and says, "Lass, take a carriage. You look about ready to pass out. I don't want to think of you passing out and getting hurt again." I groan but agree, for some reason, just so Brynjolf doesn't have to worry. Why does that matter to me now. "Lass?" I turn back to Brynjolf. "Yeah?" "What happened out there?" I feel a sudden urge to confess everything to him. But I think better of it. If he knew, he may do something stupid to 'fix' it and get himself in trouble. But maybe I will tell him if I ever get everything under control. "I'll tell you someday Bryn, just not right now. Just trust me that I can handle it and won't let it effect the guild." "Ok lass, I'll trust you on this. Just please be careful."  I leave the cistern and head to the stable to hire the carriage. We quickly get on the road towards Solitude. Why do I suddenly care what Brynjolf thinks? I mean I always made some friends when I stayed near a town, but I would never change my patterns for them. And why do I want to tell Brynjolf about everything. Windhelm, the Grigard family, and everything else that happened. I have never wanted to tell anyone before. Do I like Brynjolf? How could I like him like that already? I haven't even known him long! But it is the only reason as to why I trust him more than anyone else I have met. I need to stop thinking about this, I need to focus on the job.

(Time Skip)

I already don't like this Argonian. After talking with him, and him trying to give me the run around, he still sends me on a useless fetch job. What a waste of time. I finally walk back into the inn with the case that Gulum-Ei sent me after. I give it to him and he hands me a few potions. "I hope you aren't trying to buy me off and avoid talking about Goldenglow Gulum-Ei, cause I am already in a bad mood." "Of course not. Here is all that I know." He tells me very little information, and what he does tell me is not even remotely helpful. "And you did this for the buyer without a name?" "We rarely deal in names in this business. Now, I have fulfilled my end of the deal and told you all I know. I will be on my way." He stands and leaves the inn. Plan B then. I follow him from a safe distance out of town, down the docks, and into the East Empire Company warehouse. I climb up high and walk along the top of the shelves. I bypass all the guards being up this high. None of them think to look at the top of the shelves. I trail Gulum-Ei almost all the way around, and he goes into a hidden cavern. Great. Another cave crawl. Before I go in, I notice the office further up. I break in and clean it out of all gold or valuables. I also find a map that Delvin was talking about when I was in the flagon. I pocket all of it, and head back down to the door to the cavern and head in. Here is hoping this goes well.