Chapter 6 - Best Laid Plans
*****
"Who's the poor bastard losing his head?" I quietly asked the man next to me.
"Roggvir," the man replied out of the side of mouth.
"What did he do?"
"You'll find out in a minute. The captain is walking up the steps now."
Plenty of abuse was being hurled at the man dressed in little more than rags, hands bound in front of him. His hair was long and dirty, his beard straggly. But he had an air of defiance in the face of the accusing words. Most were calling him a traitor. I could have a good guess at what he'd done considering the civil war I'd heard about.
"Roggvir. You helped Ulfric Stormcloak escape this city after he murdered High King Torygg. By opening that gate for Ulfric you betrayed the people of Solitude!" the captain exclaimed.
The torrent of abuse only increased, and it took the line of guards keeping the crowd away from possibly tearing Roggvir limb from limb. Roggvir was allowed to step forward to answer the accusation.
"There was no murder! Ulfric challenged Torygg. He beat the High King in fair combat. Such is our way! Such as the ancient custom of Skyrim, and all Nords!"
The crowd continued to be unruly, and it took guards pushing people back with spears, one or two brandishing swords, and I wondered if this wasn't going to turn ugly. But the crowd behaved, stepping back and continued to just hurl insults at Roggvir, while I think the guards took a few barbed words too. The crowd was now so loud, you could barely hear the captain give the order for execution, Roggvir walked forward unaided to the block, where he dropped to his knees and lowered his head. The executioner walked forward, carrying an enormous two-handed axe. Lining up the axe, he took the head of Roggvir in one swing.
Their bloodlust satisfied, the crowd dispersed rather quickly. The executioner took the head, and I assumed that it would be placed on a pike above the gates as a warning to others. I fell in with the crowd, hoping to be ignored, though the coat I wore would have covered my armour. I'd heard more than one comment suggest I was a thief. They were right, but I certainly didn't like being accused of being one!
Mercer had mentioned that I would find Gulum-Ei in a tavern called the Winking Skeever, Locating the tavern wasn't particularly difficult as it was on the main road leading towards the palace. Wandering inside, it was rather full, with two musicians playing an instrument each, with a third providing further ambience with a simply beautiful singing voice. I had to stop, watch and listen for a few minutes, and once she finished, I had to join in with the applause that echoed around the entire tavern.
Thought I wanted a tankard of ale after such a long journey from Riften, I didn't want to converse with the Argonian with anything but a clear mind, Mercer and Brynjolf both warning that he was a slippery fucker, and I had the feeling they were not entirely confident I'd get the information out of him we needed. However, though I wouldn't kill him, I could always torture the bastard to get what I wanted. Not that I'd done that before, but when needs must...
I found the Argonian in a secluded corner of the tavern, busy drinking an aisle, back to the corner, eyes on everyone entering and leaving. No doubt he had clocked me enter, and probably sniffed out who I was within five seconds. Standing in front of his table, I simply looked down at him and said, "Gulum-Ei."
He looked up at me with what I thought was a smirk. "Let me guess. By your scent, I'd say you were from the Guild. But that can't be true, because I told Mercer I wouldn't deal with them anymore."
I took the spare chair without being invited to sit down and just looked at him in silence for a moment. I guess I was naively hoping I'd make him sweat, but he merely returned my look. "I'm here about Goldenglow," I finally said.
"I don't deal in land or property. Now, if you're looking for goods, you've come to the right person."
"Is that so, Gajul-Lei?"
Reading Argonian faces at the best of times is difficult, but I saw the nervous swallow, so I knew I had him, at least for a moment. "My apologies. I'm sorry to say I know very little about that... Bee farm, was it?"
I sighed, ready to take out my dagger to issue a threat or two, but I'd rather get the information without doing that. "Look, we know you acted as a broker for that deal. Your name is all over the paperwork."
He shrugged. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. I can't be expected to remember every deal I handle."
I sighed again, and withdrew the dagger, placing it on the table. "Listen very carefully, you dumb fuck. You're going to tell me everything I need to know..."
"Hasn't Mercer Frey taught you people anything? You kill me and your only contact with the East Empire Company vanishes. That's not smart for business."
I let the smirk form, and I could see the body language change. "Who said anything about killing you? What I will do is drag your sorry arse out of this tavern, find a nice secluded alley, where I will first beat your black and blue, and if you still don't cooperate, I'll start removing fingers and toes until you give me what I want."
"You're not..."
I slammed dagger point first into the table, no doubt earning the curious glances of others in the tavern. "You'd better believe I'm not joking," I growled, "Do not test my patience. Someone is fucking with the Guild and I want to know who it is."
He held up both his hands, now scared shitless. Good, that meant he'd tell me the truth. "Okay, okay, okay. I'll tell you what I know. I was approached by a woman who wanted me to act as the broker for something big. She flashed a bag of gold in my face and said all I had to do was pay Aringoth for the estate. I brought him the coin and walked away with her copy of the deed."
"Interesting. Did she give you any reason why she's doing all this? She's certainly well-funded and in the know."
"I tend not to ask too many questions when I'm on the job. I'm sure you understand. However, I did notice she was quite angry and it was being directed at Mercer Frey."
I nodded, definitely understanding what he meant, but still asked, "Did you at least get a name?"
"In this business we rarely deal in names; our identity comes from how much coin we carry."
"Or your aliases," I muttered. He snorted in amusement, knowing it was an alias he'd used that led me to his table.
"Look, that's all I know. I never promised you I'd have all the answers. Now, since our transaction is done, I'll be on my way."
"Watch yourself, Gulum-Ei. You're not smart enough to get away with it."
He gave me a look but I let him leave, letting him think I'd sit there and simply slink back to Riften. But I knew the slimy bastard knew a hell of a lot more than he was telling, so what I needed to do was find out where he was hiding information. Giving him a minute to leave, I knew he worked at the East Empire Company, so just had to figure out where their warehouse was.
Heading back to the gates, I was fortunate enough to see him in the distance, walking down the road and disappearing to the left. Jogging after him, he had already disappeared around another corner, but a signpost said the docks and the warehouse were down the hill. Perfect.
There was a lone guard on patrol around the docks, looking rather bored by everything. Gulum-Ei had disappeared by the time I was walking along the docks, and I quickly found myself at a large door, the sign stating the East Empire Company was inside. Glancing back to ensure no-one was watching, I managed to pick the lock rather quickly before stepping inside.
Stopping for a moment to allow my eyes to adjust to the gloom, I noticed guards on patrol. I didn't particularly want to wander through, cutting down everyone. These were likely legitimate workers, so I kept to the shadows and looked for a way forward. Climbing up a tall stack of shelves, I kept low and in the dark as I moved forward, noticing Gulum-Ei walk forward unimpeded, though he did stop occasionally to share a word with a guard. That was good for me, as I could watch where he was going easily, noticing he finally slipped into a hidden area.
Getting there myself was difficult, and I did eventually have to deal with one or two guards. Ensuring my hands were empty, I made do with knocking them out though made sure they wouldn't be found for at least a little while. Otherwise, it was a case of watching the guards patrol and moving when their backs were turned. It took a while, but I eventually made it to the same door through which Gulum-Ei disappeared.
I have no idea where I was, but it was clearly not part of the warehouse. There was something dodgy about all of it, and after taking care sneaking forward, I noticed bandits or mercenaries instead of warehouse workers. Fair game, as far as I was concerned. I'd left my shield back in Riften, armed with only a sword and dagger. Two men were standing on the edge near a river of water. Sneaking up behind them, I kicked one in the back, pushing him into the water, allowing the other one to turn so I could drive my sword into his gut. The one in the water couldn't swim, and I left him behind to drown.
The noise attracted attention, as another bandit was running towards me. On the narrow ledge with the water to my left, I parried a couple of his swings before getting in close, putting a foot into his knee. That caused him to drop down and I put a knee into his side, watching him fall into the water. I dealt with another three bandits, none of them particularly skilful, pushing two more into the water, the third required a sword through the chest to shut him up.
Gulum-Ei was definitely involved in a smuggling operation, considering the number of large crates and barrels bearing the East Empire Company name and symbol. But my eyes were for the three bandits who he was talking to. He turned as I approached and I think turned a shade or two of green lighter, as the three bandits thought fighting me was a good idea. Fighting three at once is never a good idea, but it was lucky for me that I don't mind fighting dirty.
However, I also like to think I have some honour, so once I was one on one with the last bandit, I offered him the chance to leave with his life. "Drop your weapons now and you can go," I said.
"I'm a dead man if I do."
"You're a dead man if you stay. All the others are now dead or dying. You'll see their bodies in the water when you go. Is this really worth dying for? You'll find another group to work for. This isn't worth it."
