Shadows Preserve Us

Chapter 8: The Pursuit

Almeta POV
I arrived at the gate leading into the yard of Riftweald manor. There is Vald, walking around the yard. He hasn't noticed me yet. I noticed a ramp that was raised. Looks like when it is lowered, you are able to reach the door inside. If I had to guess, the door is locked in a way that only a key can open it. Vald probably has the key, and Mercer probably has the other. I highly doubt the door downstairs is able to be opened at all. I quickly formulate a plan that should avoid any fighting. So help me, I am keeping my promise this time. I will try not to get injured this time. The next time Vald comes to the gate, I slowly and quietly reach around the wall and through the gate, into his pocket. I feel a key and pull it out. Hopefully this is the right key, or this plan could fail miserably. I got to the next door house and climb up to the outdoor balcony. Once there, I climb over the wall that separates the neighbor from Riftweald. Thank the divines that Audun taught me how to climb. It has really come in handy lately. I quietly creep over to the ramp, and once Vald's back is turned, I quickly climb up the support beams for the ramp. It isn't long before I am standing on the upper level deck. I wait a minute to make sure Vald didn't see me, and when I don't hear any yelling, I open the door with the stolen key and slip into the manor. Once I am inside, I listen and hear several footsteps walking around. Great. Mercer has friends. Most likely bloodthirsty friends. I take my bow off my back, intending to take care of any guards quickly and quietly. However, that plan goes out the window when one of the mercenaries walks into the room that I am crouching in. Terrific. As I am aiming an arrow at the man, he yells and alerts his friends. Cursing, I let the arrow go, killing the man in one shot. Hearing other footsteps running towards my room, I quickly aim another arrow at the door. As soons as a mercenary shows themselves, I let an arrow fly and kill them. By the time I am done, 5 mercenaries are dead. I don't hear anymore footsteps and after a minute decide that all the mercenaries are gone. I cautiously walk around the manor, looting the place as I go. I found a lot of valuable stuff, but nothing to tell me where Mercer went. I walk back into the dining room just as I was about to give up and head back to the guild, I noticed a note on the table. I picked it up and it talked about a secret passage that had been installed in a cabinet. I turned around and looked at one of the cabinets. I opened it and found that it had a false back. I walk down the stairs and find a room with some weird floor tiles. On a hunch, I grab one of the shoes that Mercer had stored in the fake cabinet and throw it onto the floor in the strange room. As soon as it touches the floor, a jet of fire shoots up from the floor. So, the floor has pressure plates that shoot up flame? Sounds like there is something down here that Mercer doesn't want anyone to find. Two can play this game. Audun taught me a technique on how to walk on floors like this without setting off the trap. I quickly walk across the floor without setting off any of the traps. However, there is a tripwire right on the other side of the door. I jump out of the way of the spiked ball that comes flying at me. After that, I watch the floor at all times.I arrive at a long hallway without setting off any other traps. Then, I see the axes. Mercer has this hall set with two axes swinging back and forth, then a battering ram doing the same thing, then finally another two axes. Overkill much? I take my time, getting passed each obstacle one at a time. It takes me about ten minutes, but I finally arrive at the end of the hall. I notice the tripwire attached to the door, and I disarm it before I open the door. As soon as I open the door, I realize why Mercer went overboard with the traps. There are jewels and jewelry everywhere. There is a bust of the Grey Fox that I know Delvin would want. There is also a sword that is most likely enchanted, as it seems to give of a frosty mist. I gather all the jewels and jewelry, and the bust. Then I pick the lock and gain the sword, which upon closer inspection I realize it is the legendary Chillrend. Of course this jerk would have a legendary sword. Finally, I find what I was looking for. On his desk are plans for a heist of the eyes of the falmer. That is probably where he is going. I gather the papers with the plan and head out of the manor through the "backdoor" that was down here. I end up dropping down into the ratway warrens. I quietly slip back through the door that leads into the flagon. I dropped the bust off with Delvin and he gave me the gold. Then I walked into the cistern to find Brynjolf. When I find him, he doesn't looked happy. "We have looked all over town, but found no sign of Mercer. Did you have any luck?" "He wasn't there, but I found this. It is probably where he is going." "He is going after the eyes of the falmer? That was Gallus' pet project. If he gets his hands on them, you can be certain he will be gone for good and set up for life." Bryn looks somewhat overwhelmed at the idea of what his former guildmaster has been up to all this time. Little did we know, we were in for even more surprises.