Shadows Preserve Us

Chapter 11: The Past and Darkness Returns

Almeta POV
Divines, everything hurts. I slowly opened my eyes and see a roof. Roof? I thought we were in the ruin? Last thing I remember is passing out in the flooding chamber. I guess Bryn or Karliah managed to fish me out of there. I look around and notice that I'm in some bedroom, probably in an inn somewhere. I look beside the bed I'm in and see Bryn sleeping in the chair next to me, holding onto one of my hands. I give his hand a squeeze to try and wake him. He slowly opens his eyes, but snaps awake as soon as he sees me looking at him. "Lass! You're awake!" "Yes, I am. Based off that reaction, I assume I have been sleeping for a while?" "Two days lass, I was starting to worry..." "You can't get rid of me that easy Bryn." He smiles at that, but then quickly turns serious again. "What is it Bryn?" "Listen lass, I know you won't like it but we had to bring you here.." I get the sinking feeling I know where here is, "Bryn, where are we?" He takes and deep breath and replies, "Candlehearth Hall in Windhelm." My blood turns to ice before he even finishes. I immediately try to jump out of bed, but that doesn't really work and I end up almost face planting on the floor. "Whoa lass, I know it isn't ideal-" "IDEAL?! Bryn, we have to leave. This town isn't safe for any of us. Where is Karliah, we need to leave now. If Inger and Ragna find out we're here, they will kill us!" "Lass, be reasonable we are in the city limits. There are guards here, even they wouldn't try anything with guards around." "Yes they would Bryn. They are like the Black-Briar family, they could literaly get away with murder and the guards won't do anything about it." "Lass, no one knows you are here and they don't care about me or Karliah. I have been here next to you the whole time and haven't let anyone in that might know you. Only a young girl has come in to bring us food. And Karliah is outside, near the door listening to see if anyone says those women's names." That gives me a little comfort. Wait. "Wait, this place hates dark elves being inside. How did you two convince them to let me and Karliah stay?" "Simple, while prejudice may be strong, the owners will listen to gold. I gave them a small fortune to let us stay here till you could travel. Karliah is still wearing her Nightingale armor  though, so no one knows about her yet. Probably smart." "Whatever the case Bryn, I'm awake and can make it to Riften. Please, just go get a carriage if you still want me to rest, but we need to leave." He looks at me for just a moment and says "Ok, I'll go let Karliah know you are awake and ready to leave. Make sure to cover your face if you're still worried about Inger and Ragna." He slips out the door then to go talk to Karliah. I slowly stand up, hoping to keep my balance. I'm a little wobbly, but am able to stand. I move slowly, as I am stiff from lying in bed for days, but I gather my belongings and find my armor. This task is also slow going, as my stomach screams in protest as I don my armor, but eventually I get it on. I'm about to head to the door, when I hear it open. "Hey Bryn, carriage ready?" "Maybe, but you won't be getting on it." That's not Bryn. I turn around and freeze. Its them. Inger and Ragna Grigard. "How did you-" "Know you were here? Quite easy dear." Inger says. Ragna walks toward me like a sabre cat circling its prey, "Your little friend was very careful about letting people in. But he did let in that serving girl, and unfortunately for you both she recognized you and came running to tell us." This is bad. I don't have my weapon on me yet, and Bryn is still gone. I don't know if Karliah went with him, and no one else would come help if I yelled. Just as I start to judge if I could get out the door, Ragna jumps on me. We hit the floor hard and she quickly has me pinned and I can't move. Inger saunters over now, "It's almost unfair to kill you now, while your injured, but clearly you are to dangerous to go after when you are healthy. Arvid learned that the hard way, didn't he Almeta?" I try and get out Ragna's hold, which only results in her putting an arm across my neck and cutting off my air. "We took you in and raised you, and you thank us by killing my husband and son!" Inger is now screaming, but I know no one outside will interfere. Ragna slowly puts more pressure on my neck until only a little air is able to get through, not enough to keep me alive. They really are going to kill me, I've survived this long, only to be strangled in the inn. Ragna leans in close and whispers in my ear, "We may not be able to take our time and draw this out, but watching you choke is at least entertaining. And watching your friends find you will be even more fun. But don't worry, we won't leave them out of the fun and we will take our time with them." No! Bryn! Darkness starts to creep in from the edge of my vision. It's no good, I can't stay awake much longer. Weakly, I try and shove her off, but I don't have enough strength left. Just as my vision is going to fade out completely, I hear the door open again. "Ok, the carriage is waiting- Lass!!" I faintly see Bryn and Karliah rush in and slam the door shut. Karliah goes after Inger, while Bryn rushes up and yanks Ragna off of me. I start to cough and suck in air as quickly as I can. Ragna stands up and turns to face Bryn who is standing protectively in front of me, keeping both women away from me. "Ha, so your friends came back quicker than expected Almeta. Not that it matters, we'll just kill-" Bryn doesn't let her say anymore and ends her with a ruthless slash of his daggers across her throat. Ragna's eyes widen in surprise as she clutches her throat trying to breathe, but it is useless. She chokes on her own blood and dies quickly. Inger is staring at the scene for a second to long, and Karliah stabs her in the chest quickly. Inger falls to the floor, covering her chest. She looks at us and quietly says, "You realize you won't ever be able to come back here. You won't get away with this." I'm pretty sure if she could have, she would have yelled for the guards and had us all killed for doing this, but I guess the stab wound hit her lung and she couldn't draw in enough air for that. I walk over to her and say, "No Inger, this is over. You and your family are done ruining my life, and ruining any other lives. And I want you to know, that now that this is over, I will never think of you or your family ever again or let you influence my life. Good bye Inger." She looks at me shocked for a second, and then her eyes glaze over and she is gone. I turn to face Karliah and Bryn, "Thank you guys. Now, I would love to stay and chat but we really should go now. We can talk in the carriage." With that I pull on my cowl, grab my pack, and we leave the town of Windhelm behind. Once we have been in the carriage for a few minutes, Bryn turns to me, "Are you sure you are alright lass? That bruise on your neck is pretty bad." "I'm fine Bryn. My throat is a little sore, but I'll live." He smiles at me and pulls me into a side hug. "Thank the divines we got back to the room when we did. A minute more, and this wouldn't have ended as nicely." "Yeah, but we probably won't be able to go to Windhelm again for a long time." I turn to Karliah and say, "Ok, what is next?" She snaps out of whatever daze she was in and replies, "Well, we need to return the skeleton key to the Twilight Sepulcher. Well, to be more accurate you need to return it. Bryn is needed back in Riften to run the guild, and I can't bare to face Nocturnal after my failure." Bryn immedietly sits up after that, "Like hell I am letting the lass wander off to the Twilight Sepulcher by herself. I've almost lost her three times! Two of which were in the last week!" I turn to face Bryn, "Bryn, I don't like it either, but she is right. The guild needs their second in command right now. And by all accounts this should be the easiest part of this little adventure. Walk in, put the key back, and make it back to Riften in one piece." "I hate to disagree Almeta, but it won't be easy. The way to the Evergloam was locked when Mercer took the key. So, you will have to go through the Pilgrim's Path." I face Karliah once again and mutter, "Well that sounds delightful. What exactly is the Pilgrim's Path?" "I'm sorry Almeta, I don't know. I've never followed it so I don't know what you will face." Fantastic. Bryn almost growls at that comment, "Now I really don't want the lass doing this." I turn his face to look at me, "It will be ok Bryn. You'll see. I managed to beat Mercer, and he had insane powers. Compared to that, this will be a piece of cake." "Lass, that doesn't make me feel better, Mercer almost killed you." "Well, Bryn then it is a good thing Mercer won't be there. I'll be back at Riften in a few days. I promise." Bryn growls again but finally relents. "Fine, lass. But if you aren't back in five days, I'm coming looking for you." "Ok Bryn. Karliah, give me the key. When we get to Riften, I'll grab a horse and head out."

(Time Skip)

That was about two days ago. It had taken longer than expected to get through the Pilgrim's Path, but I had finally put the key back where it belonged. Nocturnal offered me three potential gifts and I became an Agent of Stealth. With how often I manage to get into trouble, becoming invisible at the drop of a hat could be very useful. It took me another day of fast riding to get back to Riften. When I finally arrived, I went straight to the guild. I see Bryn standing at the desk in the cistern, bent over the ledger. I quietly walked over, and Bryn is so lost in thought that he doesn't see me coming at all. "Well Bryn, with that key back in place I get the feeling that ledger is about to look a lot better." He looks up and his signature smirk immediately slides into place. "Well lass, it is good to see you managed to keep your promise for once. You aren't bleeding all over the cistern floor." He then genuinely smiles and says "It really is good to see you lass." He comes around the desk and pulls me into a kiss. "I could get used to being greeted like that Bryn. So, what next Bryn? Anymore emergency crises that need to be averted?" He chuckles at that, "No lass, for once everything is going ok. All that is left is spreading the influence of the guild across all of Skyrim." "Well then Bryn, we have a lot of work to do. How about you and me head out on a job. I heard that Delvin had a special job request from Whiterun." "I knew larceny was in your blood lass. That sounds like a great idea." We both turn and walk out of the cistern to go take that job. This is the beginning of a long crime spree, and Skyrim better be ready.