Chapter 7 - The Road to Revenge
*****
Vex surprised me by admitting she had been intimate with Vald, though she added that what occurred wasn't actually intimate. "He fucked me, came, then left me to finish myself off each time."
"And you did this more than once?"
She shrugged. "He has a big cock." She paused and smirked, "Same as someone else I've heard about."
I know my eyebrows raised at that admission. "Seriously?"
"Women like to share details, Ragnar. And those details have even made it down here." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, Vald owes a debt to Maven. I think the only reason he's still breathing is that he was willing to work for Mercer."
"So I should probably just talk to Maven then?"
"Vald is an idiot, so yes, see what the issue was from Maven and maybe you can get Vald out of the way. Though I think you're big enough to take him, Vald does some talent in those arms."
Sighing to myself, as it was just more legwork, I headed up to the surface and knocked on the door of the manor again. It was opened by one of the men this time, not sure of his name, and asked to see Maven. He let me in and I was escorted upstairs to what looked like her bedroom, though Maven was sat at a desk. She appeared rather amused to see me, though I'm sure that was because she didn't know what was going on. "This is becoming a common occurrence, Ragnar." I wasn't sure if that was a threat or not. She actually
smiled
when I didn't say anything. "Come now, Ragnar, take a seat. I won't bite. I think it's safe to say that you're definitely in my good books."
I took a seat nearby and explained what I wanted. That's when she actually laughed. "You actually want to help that idiot? Why?"
"Guild business. I'll explain everything once the issue is sorted. I'm not sure you'll want to know yet." I think my tone carried enough that even she wouldn't ask questions. Well, except for...
"This won't bite me in the arse, will it?"
"No, Maven. Your arse will be just fine." Gods, did I just... flirt with Maven Black-Briar? What made it even weirder is that she giggled and I think was maybe a tiny bit... interested. Okay, I needed out right now, so cleared my throat and asked, "What did he do exactly?"
Once she'd explained everything, I figured either myself or someone else would be going for a swim. Thanking her for the information, I headed out towards the docks straight away. There were plenty of rowboats, but I knew I couldn't swim to the bottom to find the quill. So I went looking for an Argonian and eventually found one in the fishery building. The first couple wouldn't even listen to me, but the third was willing to hear me out, and with the promise of a coin pouch, she agreed to help.
With a rough idea of where Vald had shipwrecked, the Argonian undressed to her underwear and dove in. She was gone for a few minutes but eventually appeared carrying a strongbox. I took that first before helping her up onto the boat. Cracking the lock wasn't the difficult, and the quill was amazingly dry, and there was even an inkpot too. I gave the Argonian anything else within it, a few coin and jewels, which made her rather happy, and I rowed us back to shore.
I think I was making a habit of impressing Maven Black-Briar, as when I handed the quill over, I think I left her a little speechless. "Ragnar, what I said about Ingun..."
"Yes?"
"I'd like you to have dinner with us one night, just you, my daughter and I. You've more than proven yourself."
"Um, you do realise..."
"That you're fucking Haelga?" She laughed. "Everyone knows, Ragnar. But it's also known that she's always had open relationships, even when she was married. And as Ingun apparently doesn't mind that you're fucking someone else, and possibly interested in her too, then you're welcome to join us."
"I can do that once this situation with the guild is resolved."
"Very well. Just let me know when you would like to join us."
Vald didn't even know what I was organising, so turning up with the letter releasing him from his debt made him very agreeable, handing over the key to Mercer's house and letting me know others were inside. He suggested they were not the greatest of mercenaries, but I remained careful as I snuck up the ladder and carefully unlocked, opened and slipped inside.
I moved quickly once I heard their footsteps, trying to kill as silently as possible. One fought better than I anticipated, and he got in a couple of good swings that, although I didn't worry, made me cautious. But Vald was right in the end, and I managed to take down all four mercenaries without too much hassle.
The house was empty, and after searching for an hour, I was ready to give up when a cabinet I'd looked at a couple of times had me thinking. Pressing my ear to the door, I was certain I heard a faint breeze, and a kick into the back of the cabinet revealed a hidden passageway. Always careful, I managed to avoid the traps Mercer had set, and I eventually found myself in a hidden office. It was full of information I could take back to Brynjolf and Karliah, including plenty of maps that appeared to reveal numerous locations for possible heists, correspondence between Mercer and unknown clients, that were more than likely private affairs rather than Guild issues. I made sure I took all the gold and jewels on offer, but the one prize that took my eye was the sword in a locked display case.
An elbow into the glass smashed the lid and I grabbed the sword, recognising straight away that the blade was enchanted. Making my way back to the front door, it took a couple of swings of my other sword to smash the wooden bar to get the door open. Once back out into the city, I headed straight back to the Ratway and the Flagon.
Karliah, Brynjolf, Vex and Delvin were all sitting at a table, obviously waiting for me to return. They didn't ask what took so long. All they wanted to know was if I was successful. I'm sure I looked rather smug when I laid down everything. "Oh, and I also took this rather nice sword for myself," I added.
"That's Chillrend," Delvin whispered with admiration, "The bastard had it?"
"In a display case, locked tight. So I smashed and grabbed."
That caused a few chuckles as I grabbed chair, two of them shuffling out of the way, as the four looked over everything I grabbed. It remained quiet for at least a few minutes before Brynjolf exclaimed, "Shor's balls!"
Everyone shut up and looked at him. "What is it?" Karliah wondered.
"The son of a bitch is going after the Eyes of the Falmer. That was Gallus's pet project!"
