Shadows Preserve Us

Chapter 9: Trinity Restored

Almeta POV
" We have to stop him Bryn." "Agreed. He's taken everything the guild has left, and now going after one of the last great heists is just an insult. And after everything he did to you, he needs to pay for what he has done." I turn around and notice Karliah standing in the center of the cistern, looking up through the grating in the ceiling. I turn to face Bryn again. "What about Karliah? Have you spoken with her?" "Aye, I have. I have made amends for how the guild has treated her in recent years. She said she wants to help us go after Mercer, but she wants to speak to us first. We should go speak to her now, we need to move quickly." " You're right, we don't have any time to lose. Mercer already has a head start on us. He'll be at the ruins soon." We both walk towards Karliah and as soon as we get to her she dives right into the business at hand. "Brynjolf, it is time to decide Mercer's fate. Until a new guildmaster is chosen, the decision is yours to make." Bryn looks conflicted for a moment, before he appears resolved and replies, "Aye lass. And I've come to a decision. Mercer tried to kill you both, betrayed the guild, killed Gallus and made us question our future. He needs to die." Bryn must feel horrible. He has worked with Mercer for years and trusted him. And now in the span of one day he has found out Mercer is a traitor and a murderer. For a fraction of a second I think I see grief in Bryn's eyes, but then it is gone. Before I can ask if he is ok, Karliah continues " We have to be very careful Brynjolf. Mercer is a Nightingale, an agent of Nocturnal." If it were possible, Bryn looks even more overwhelmed at that comment. "Then... it's all true. Everything I heard in the stories. The Nightingales, their allegiance to Nocturnal, the Twilight Sepulcher." Karliah, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Bryn is becoming overwhelmed continues, "Yes, which is why we need to prepare ourselves and meet Mercer on equal footing. Just outside of Riften, beyond the southeast gate is a small path cut up the mountainside. At the end of the path is a small clearing with an old standing stone. I would ask you both to meet me there." With that, Karliah turns and leaves the cistern through the graveyard. When she is gone, I turn to Bryn "Bryn? You ok? This has been a lot to handle in one day." He turns to me with that same pained look on his face from before, and this time I know it isn't just my imagination, this betrayal has hurt him deeply. "I'll be fine lass. This is just a lot to process. The Nightingales are real, you are really alive and here with me, and Mercer is a traitor who tried to kill the women I love. How does someone process all that in less than a day. And we don't have time to wait for me to process it, because if we do Mercer will get the eyes and win." "I know it is a lot Bryn, but just focus on something less overwhelming. Anything that makes you feel calm. I always do that when I start to get overwhelmed." "What do you think about Almeta?" I get a little embarrassed when he asks, but I know that is silly, Bryn wouldn't care what it is. "I think of here. Of being here with all of you. Of all the friends I've made here. Of being with you. Thinking of that always makes me calm." "Well then lass, I didn't know you thought so highly of us." Byrn says while smirking at me. "So, what are you going to think about Bryn? I told you mine, you tell me yours." If it were possible, Bryn's smirk grows even wider, "And spoil the surprise lass? I'll tell you, one day." With that, he walked out to the graveyard. I quickly follow behind him to go meet Karliah. Time to get the advantage we need for this fight. It doesn't take me and Bryn long to get to the clearing that Karliah mentioned, and once we arrived, the aforementioned dark elf steps out from the shadows. "Ok Karliah, we're here. What are we doing here?" Bryn chimes in while still looking around the clearing, "Aye lass, what is this place?" Karliah, still half cloaked in shadows says, "This is the headquarters of the Nightingales, cut into the mountain by the first of our kind. We have come to seek the edge we need to beat Mercer. If you both will follow me, I'll explain more on the way." The mountain side opens and reveals a hidden door. The door opens into a large cave. Brynjolf is staring almost in awe of the place. "Nightingale hall. I heard about this place when I joined the guild, but I never thought the place actually existed." We walk a little further into the cavern and come out into a large room with beds and other furniture. Karliah turns around and says, "What's wrong Brynjolf? I can almost hear your brow furrowing" Bryn looks at me, then back to Karliah, "I'm just trying to understand why I'm here lass. I'm no priest and I'm certainly not religious. Why pick me?" Without even turning to look at Brynjolf, Karliah responds "This isn't about religion Brynjolf, its business." We walk into a small room with three pedestals with the Nightingale insignia on it. "Now, if you would both put on the Nightingale armor, we can begin the oath." I walk up to a pedestal and put on the new armor. It is midnight black and fits like a glove. It even has a mask that covers every part of my face except for my eyes. I turn around and find that both Bryn and Karliah have donned their armor as well. Bryn and I turn to face Karliah once more. "Ok lass, we've got these get-ups on. Now what?" Karliah then responds by just casually announcing, "Beyond this gate is the first step in becoming Nightingales." What? I am completely shocked by this announcement, and judging by Bryn's body language, so is he. "Whoa lass, I appreciate the armor. But becoming a Nightingale? That was never discussed." Karliah almost sounds bored at this point when she responds, "To hold any hope of defeating Mercer, we must have Nocturnal at our backs. If she is to accept you as one of her own, an arrangement must be struck" I can tell Brynjolf is getting concerned at this point and I don't blame him. Making deals with Daedra should never be taken lightly. "What sort of arrangement lass? I need to know the terms." "The terms are quite simple Brynjolf. Nocturnal will allow you to become a Nightingale and use your new powers however you wish, and in return in both life and death you will guard the Twilight Sepulcher." "Aye, there is always a catch, though at this point I suppose there isn't much to lose. If it means the end of Mercer, you can count me in." I tell Karliah that I am in as well and she opens the gate into the next room. We all stand on an individual platform while Karliah calls on Nocturnal. An orb of blue light appears in the center of the room and a woman's voice begins to berate Karliah for losing something. Karliah begins to apologize and tells Nocturnal that she is offering me and Bryn as two new recruits in way of apology. Nocturnal agrees and once the oath is said, Nocturnal declares us all Nightingales. As the orb disappears, Nocturnal tells Karliah to make sure she doesn't disappoint her again. After that is done we all meet on the center platform. Karliah approaches me and Bryn and says, "Now that you have transacted the oath, it's time to reveal the final piece of the puzzle to you; Mercer's true crime." "He's done more?" "Mercer was able to open the guild's vault without two keys because of what he stole the Twilight Sepulcher... the skeleton key. By doing these, he corrupted our ties with Nocturnal and in essence caused our luck to run dry." Karliah then explains that the key not only opens any door, but any barrier so one could use the key to gain almost god power. "Then we need to return that key to the Sepulcher. This the first time I have set out to return a stolen object to the rightful owner." Karliah mentions one last thing before she walks away, "Before we depart, you need to talk to Brynjolf. He has something to tell you." After she said this, she walked back the way we came. I walk up to Bryn and smirk, " So, Karliah said you have something to tell me?" " yeah, listen lass. There is one last piece of business we have to handle before we go after Mercer. The leadership of the guild." I get the feeling I know where this is going, and I'm not sure I like it. I apprehensively ask, " Why are you telling me this?" "While you were at Mercer's house, Karliah and I had a long talk about this. Thanks to your efforts, Mercer's treachery was exposed. After we deal with him, all that is left is restoring the guild to full strength. As a result, we both feel that you have the potential to replace Mercer as leader of the thieves guild." I knew this was where this was going. " Me? What about you Bryn? You've been around a lot longer." "I've been at this game for a long time, you are right. I've stolen trinkets froms nobles and framed priests for murder. I'm good at what I do, maybe even the best" I swear it is impossible for his smirk to get any bigger. "However, thievery is all I know lass. I've never been one to lead. Never desired it, never cared for. Don't want it." I just stare at Bryn, I don't even know what to say. "Bryn, I'm not sure I'm the best choice. I don't think I can do it. Plus Inger and Ragna are still out there and I may have to leave." Bryn pauses for a second and then walks forward and wraps me in a hug. "You don't need to answer right now lass. We do have a bit of an errand to perform." I laugh a little at that, remembering how our first conversation was very similar. Bryn pulls away slightly to look into my eyes. "However, lass, you should know that I have the utmost faith in you. I believe you would be an amazing guildmaster. All of the other members have faith in you. And if Inger and Ragna do show up, they would all help you with them. You don't have to keep running anymore if you don't want to. I hope you will accept the position." I pull away from and say "I'll think about it. But I don't want to bring anymore trouble to the guild. Now, lets go get Mercer. I'll meet you and Karliah at the ruins." I turn and walk away. It's a long way to Irkngthand.