Shadows Preserve Us

Chapter 6: Speaking with Silence

Almeta POV
It takes one and a half days of hard riding, but I have arrived to Snow Veil without encountering any hostile problems. I see Mercer as I approach and stop my horse, leaping off once it stops. "Good you're finally here. I know she is still here." "How do you know that? Did you find her?" I look around, searching for any sign of the traitor. "No, I found her horse. Don't worry I took care of it." Then I see the dead horse. I get that we need to make sure that she can't get away, but I wish he hadn't killed the horse. "Well, let's go then." I walk down to the door of the ruin, but it locks like it is locked. "Some say these nordic burial mounds are impenetrable. This one doesn't look to difficult. Quite simple really. Just need to have the right touch." Mercer fidgets with the door a little and then all the iron bars slide away from the door. "You have got to teach me that later." Mercer stays quiet as we walk into the ruin. Hopefully, this will be quick.

(Time skip)

One job. Just one job to go right. Just one quick and easy job. I know it was a lot to hope for, but I thought it would be some traps reset. Not all of the draugr still being alive and all of the traps still active. This girl is obviously very skilled to have gotten past all these draugr without waking them up. Unfortunately, we are not that skilled, or just unlucky and have had to fight our whole way through this mess. Though I did manage to find a model ship that Delvin may like. Finally, we seem to have reached the end. We get to a large hall with a strange door. "Ah, one of the famous nordic puzzle doors. Supposedly, you can't open these without their claw and you can be sure Karliah has already done away with it. Thankfully, these doors have a weakness, if you know how to exploit it." He fiddles with this door too, shielding his hands from view. Again, after a minute or two the door starts to move and pops open. "Seriously Mercer. You have to teach me that." And again, he just stays silent. I walk through the door and quickly feel a sharp pain in my shoulder. The world quickly goes dark.

I don't know how long I was out, but when I come to I hear two voices. "Do you really think your arrow will reach me before my blade finds your heart?" Mercer? "Give me a reason to try." That must be Karliah. My vision is swimming, but I can still see two vaguely human like shapes. Going to guess the closer of the two must be Mercer. That means the one holding a bow is Karliah. "You're a clever girl Karliah. Buying Goldenglow and funding Honningbrew was inspired." "To destroy one's enemy you must first undermine their allies. That is the first lesson Gallus taught us." "You always were a quick study." "Not quick enough, or Gallus would still be alive." What? "Gallus had his wealth and he had you. All he had to do was turn the other way." Wait, what? What does Mercer mean 'look the other way'? I try to move but I am completely paralyzed. The arrow must have been poisoned. "Did you forget the oath we took as Nightingales? Did you expect him to simply ignore your methods?" Did...did Mercer kill Gallus? "Enough of this mindless banter. Come Karliah, time for you and Gallus to become reunited." Mercer draws his blades and drops into a fighting stance. Karliah pulls out a potion and then disappears. "I'm no fool Mercer, crossing blades with you would be a death sentence. But I promise the next time we meet will be your undoing." Mercer sheaths his blades after a minute, I guess waiting to see if she had truly left. He then turns to look at me. I really need to move now, cause I doubt that he is going to let me leave after hearing all this. I try and move, but I still can't. "How interesting, it seems Gallus' history has repeated itself. Karliah has provided me the means to be rid of you, and this ancient tomb becomes your final resting place. But do you know what intrigues me the most? The fact that this was all possible because of you. Farewell, I'll be sure to give Brynjolf your regards." Then without anything else, he stabs me in the stomach. My vision starts to fade again as I see Mercer leave. I'm sorry Brynjolf. I'll never be able to tell you why I stayed. I'm so sorry. With that, my vision fades out completely

Brynjolf's POV
It has been a few days since Mercer and the lass left. I have been pretty anxious, now that I know people are actively hunting Almeta. I don't think I have ever felt this attached to a new recruit. 3 days after they left, I got really worried and went to look for them. Mercer's wishes be damned. I was going to help them, so I left Delvin in charge and left for the ruin. But when I got there, no one was there. Someone clearly had been, cause all the draugr were dead and all the traps had been sprung. I could follow the trail of bodies all the way to the last room of the ruin, a wide open cavern-like space. But this room is just as empty as all the other rooms. I see a patch of blood on the floor that I pray to every divine I can think of that it belongs to Karliah. I quickly leave the ruin and go to the nearest town which is Winterhold. Maybe they stopped there? When I arrive, I head straight to the inn and ask if two people a male breton and a dark elf woman came in together recently. He says he doesn't remember a pair like that coming through. I thank him and leave again. The only other place near here is Windhelm, but Almeta would never go there. I still stop anyway. If she was hurt, she may not have been able to stop Mercer from bringing her there. I do the same thing, asking about the pair at the local inn. As soon as I mention a dark elf woman, the people in the inn tell me I would have better luck looking in the Grey Quarter cause they wouldn't let someone like that stay at the inn. That comment makes me mad, but I take them up on that suggestion. But I have the same luck in the Grey Quarter as everywhere else. Reluctantly, I head back to Riften, hoping I just missed them on the road. Once I get back, I head straight to the flagon. When I get there Delvin rushes up to me. "Brynjolf! There you are! Mercer got back a few hours ago. He wants to see you right now." Mercer got back? Just Mercer? With a growing feeling of dread in my stomach, I quickly walk to Mercer's desk anxious to hear what happened to the lass. During my little adventure, I realized that I really care for the lass. Now, I am worried I will never be able to tell her. I arrive at his desk and he doesn't even look up. "Ah, Brynjolf. Finally back from your cross-tamriel escapade." "Mercer, what happened? Where is the lass?" "Karliah got the jump on us. Just inside the last room. We started to fight but, she took an invisibility potion and ran away like a coward." "Where is the lass Mercer?" "It took me a while to get back, I was a little slow moving due to my injuries but I finally arrived back today." "Your story be damned! Where is Almeta?! Tell me!" Mercer finally looks at me with a look between being angry for me yelling at him, and a sad look in his eye. I see that look and my heart stops. "No..." "Brynjolf, Karliah shot her as soon as we walked in. A poisoned arrow. By the time I had chased off Karliah, your recruit was already dying. I couldn't do anything for her." "But, she had healing magic. Why didn't she use it?" "Brynjolf, healing magic doesn't work on poison and, even if it did, she was drained from the poison." I stagger back from the desk like I have been struck. The lass is dead. My lass is dead. My Almeta is dead. "I'm sorry Brynjolf. She wanted me to tell you goodbye. Those were her last words. I buried her a little ways away from the ruin. Rest assured, we will find Karliah and avenge Almeta." With that Mercer walks away, leaving me standing there and staring into space. I should have gone with them. I should have been there. Maybe then Almeta would still be around. Now I can never tell the lass that I care for her. Almeta, I am so sorry!