Its our first time back to the Cistern after breaking my limits and finding new heights to which to ascend. You know, the whole level one-thousand thing. Anyways, I couldn’t help but be curious how a supposed Alpha Male like Mercer Frey would react to my sudden change. I knew how women reacted, what with how even Maven Black-Briar had been struggling to control herself, and Irileth had fallen before my, heh, ‘blade’, but what would Mercer do or say?
 
I kind of get what I’m looking for, as we approach the Thieves Guild Leader. He stiffens when he lays eyes on me, his nostrils flaring for a moment. He’s threatened, I can tell. But he does an admirable enough job of hiding it behind his usual gruff, altogether dour exterior. Not good enough to keep it from my enhanced senses, but still, it’s an attempt.
 
Crossing his arms over his chest, Mercer gives us both an acknowledging nod.
 
“You work fast, I’ll grant you both that. But then, so do I. I’ve consulted my contacts regarding the information you recovered from Goldenglow Estate, but no one can identify that symbol. Unless you’ve uncovered more…”
 
His leading tone makes me grin, even as I hold out what we found at Honningbrew over near Whiterun.
 
“Maybe you can make something of all of this. It has the same marking.”
 
Mercer’s eyes narrow as they flit across the papers quickly. I know he’s already going to find our next lead, so I’m unbothered as I wait patiently for him to speak again.
 
“… It would seem our adversary is attempting to take us apart indirectly by angering Maven Black-Briar. Very clever.”
 
Humming, I cock my head to the side.
 
“Is it? Very clever, I mean. Honestly, their ploys so far seem incredibly childish. All of this must have taken them years to prepare, and for what? We handled their attempts with relative ease.”
 
I’m prodding, pushing, because I want to see how Mercer will respond. Because I’m right, but I’m only right because it was Svanna and I doing all the heavy lifting. Is the dour leader of the Thieves Guild willing to acknowledge that plain and simple truth? Karliah’s hairbrained schemes might have actually had some success in tearing Maven and the Thieves Guild apart, if not for me.
 
Though, how the fuck that was supposed to help the Dunmer Thief accomplish her real goal of bringing Mercer to justice with a fucking journal she had spent twenty-five years failing to translate, I’d never understand. Either way, I watch as Mercer’s jaw twitches for a moment.
 
“You jest, but they’ve been able to avoid identification for years. They’re obviously well-funded, driven, and patient. Don’t mistake my admiration for complacency; our enemy is going to pay dearly.”
 
I smile. He seems so sure of it, so I know he’s found our next lead. All that’s left is to pry it out of the taciturn thief.
 
“Oh? How so?”
 
Smirking, seeming quite smug and pleased with himself, Mercer slaps his knuckles against the papers in his hand.
 
“Because, even after all their posturing and planning, they’ve made a mistake. The parchment you’ve recovered mentions a ‘Gajul-Lei’. According to my sources, that’s an old alias used by one of our contacts. His real name is Gulum-Ei. Slimy bastard.”
 
And there it is. A little impatient, I nod my head.
 
“Very well then. So, we go talk to Gulum-Ei.”
 
“Aye. He’s our inside man at the East Empire Company in Solitude. Clearly, he acted as a go-between for the sale of Goldenglow. He can finger our buyer, so get out there, shake him down, and see what you come up with. Talk to Brynjolf before you leave if you have any questions.”
 
Seeing as I really don’t have any questions, I just bow my head to Mercer Frey, feigning respect, and once he’s turned away from Svanna and I, I take her and leave the Cistern. One step closer… off to Solitude we go.
 
-x-X-x-
 
Now, technically there’s no actual job to do in Solitude with Gulum-Ei. All you do is persuade the guy to tell you some stuff, shadow him when he doesn’t tell you ALL the stuff, and then intimidate him into telling you the most important stuff, like who Karliah really is and where she can be found. I’m half-tempted to not even bother going to Solitude, and just waiting a day or something before turning back around and trying to convince Mercer that Svanna and I already did the job.
 
But narrative being what it is, I just want to get this done properly. And so Svanna and I do Recall over to Solitude, find Gulum-Ei, and extract the relevant information from him with a combination of One Thousand Speech Skill and Charm Magic. No need for the shadowing part of the quest, he tells us all about Karliah and who she really is when we first approach him.
 
Then, we spend the night in Taarie and Endarie’s shop again, before Recalling back to Riften in the morning. Sure, I could probably spend a day getting another thousand levels or something, or Svanna and I could take our time trawling across Skyrim… but I’m impatient and we have Teleportation Magic at our fingertips.
 
So, a day later, we’re back in the Cistern, approaching Mercer once more, the ‘job’ as it were actually completed, albeit just as unconventionally as the Honningbrew quest. If Mercer is surprised to see us, he makes no indication of it, merely getting right back down to business then and there.
 
“Did Gulum-Ei give up any information on our buyer?”
 
I smirk and nod, pleased to respond honestly.
 
“Yes. He said Goldenglow was purchased by Karliah. You know, the traitor to the guild you and everyone else seemingly forgot to tell Svanna and I about.”
 
I’ll give Frey credit… his poker face is phenomenal. To be fair, some part of his shock is probably genuine, as he gasps, and his eyes widen.
 
“No… it can’t be. I haven’t heard that name in decades. Tch, this is grave news indeed. She’s someone I hoped to never cross paths with again.”
 
“Oh? Weren’t interested in bringing her to justice?”
 
Mercer glares at me for that, gritting his teeth angrily. Once again, I’m impressed at how righteous he manages to make his fury seem.
 
“Karliah destroyed everything this Guild stood for. She murdered my processor in cold blood and betrayed the Guild. After we discovered what she’d done, of course we spent months trying to track her down. But… she just vanished.”
 
I hum, nodding along as if I’m buying this load of shit.
 
“Why has she returned then?”
 
“Karliah… Karliah and I were like partners. I went with her on every heist. We watched each other’s backs. I know her techniques, I know her skills. If she kills me, there’ll be no one left who can possibly catch her.”
 
I don’t point out the fact that they’ve both had twenty-five fucking years to handle one another. Neither of them have done much in a literal quarter of a century to stop the other, and it’s kind of annoying me to be honest. They both have such a high opinion of themselves and each other, it makes me kind of sick. I mean, I suppose at least Mercer has been living large with his Skeleton Key and stolen Nightingale powers, being the biggest, meanest, scummiest badass he can be with his potential unlocked, as it were.
 
But Karliah definitely doesn’t have any excuse. Mercer ruined her life, and she’s wasted twenty five years on a shoddy attempt at revenge. I, of course, don’t say any of that. Instead, I shrug.
 
“Gulum-Ei said she’d be ‘Where the end began’, whatever that means.”
 
 
“There’s only one place that could be. The place where she murdered Gallus… a ruin called Snow Veil Sanctum. We have to go out there before she disappears again.”
 
I smile.
 
“We?”
 
Something flickers in his eyes, as he looks between me and Svanna before… shaking his head.
 
“Me and the girl. If she sees too many, she’ll spook and run. You’re too flashy, so you’ll stay here. Go to Brynjolf or Maven for work. You.”
 
He looks to Svanna, who has stiffened up at his presumptuous tone.
 
“Prepare yourself and meet me at the ruins as soon as you can. We can’t afford to let her slip through our fingers.”
 
I have my mouth open to interject, but before I can speak, Mercer is already stalking away. Wow that was… that was bullshit. Some fine, Grade-A railroading if I’ve ever seen any. Svanna is just looking at me baffled, and I give her a grin and a wink.
 
“Not to worry darling. If Mercer Frey wants to divide and conquer, we’ll give him what he desires.”
 
-x-X-x-
 
Svanna was a little ill at ease. On the one hand, she knew Vayral wouldn’t let anything happen to her. On the other, she was nervous. Mercer Frey was a sleazebag and a half, and she had no reason to believe the version of him she’d tangentially been aware of and the version of him in this timeline weren’t one in the same.
 
She definitely had no reason to believe that he would have been any more merciful with her then his people were, back in her world. If he’d been in town at the time of her capture, would she have even gotten an exile, rather than a straight up execution? From what she’d seen and heard since joining this version of the Thieves Guild, Svanna doubted it.
 
Regardless, she and Mercer had met up outside of Snow Veil Sanctum, and the aged thief had seemed pleased Vayral was nowhere in sight. He’d told her he was certain that Karliah was inside, and when she’d stayed quiet, he’d gone on to explain that he found her horse and took care of it.
 
From there, he’d had Svanna lead. She couldn’t use the gear Vayral had given her that made her completely undetectable, lest Mercer get suspicious, so she felt damn near naked as he followed her into the Sanctum and through its halls. She still had the armor that let her heal instantly from any injury though, and that should be more than enough.
 
As they’d walked on through the ruins, Mercer had seemed to have an almost guilty conscience. Svanna said not a word, but he insisted on talking to fill the space, like they weren’t trying to fucking sneak up on someone or something. He talked and talked about Gallus and how Karliah betrayed them in this very dungeon, and how he worked to bring the disparate factions of the Thieves Guild together after Gallus’ death.
 
It's all a load of bullshit, from what Svanna knows, as well as what Vayral told her. By betraying his pact with the Daedric Prince Nocturnal, Mercer sealed his own fate. By forcing himself into the position of leadership within the Thieves Guild to cover it up, he’d sealed the Guild’s fate as well. The man was as selfish as they came, and maybe it was a little hypocritical of Svanna… but frankly, she despised him.
 
Her contempt for him only grew as they made their way deeper into Snow Veil Sanctum as well, as she realized that Mercer Frey… was an absolutely terrible sneak! The man was bringing every monster in the ruins down upon their head! He wasn’t even trying to be stealthy! Now, to be fair, he didn’t have Vayral’s enchanted gear on hand, but even still! Svanna had been a better sneak than Mercer Frey when she was TEN!
 
The only interesting thing was his lockpicking skills. He was very, very good at getting past doors that Svanna had never ever had to pick before. She might have tried to pry the knowledge loose from him, if she trusted him even half an inch. But since she didn’t, she remained quiet… though her eyes only narrowed further when he proved able to pick even a fucking Nordic Puzzle Door. The ones that, in Svanna’s experience, were impossible to open without the matching Dragon Claw.
 
Mercer said there was a weakness he knew how to exploit, but she was undeniably suspicious of him. Still, all she could do was continue onward for now. She had to trust in Vayral, and in the plan.
 
Only, as Svanna enters the last chamber of the Sanctum, right after Mercer finishes opening the Puzzle Door, her eyes alight upon a cloaked figure, standing high up atop a balcony. The Dragonborn’s gaze goes wide, when she realizes said figure already has a bow drawn on her. Before Svanna can react, the figure looses her arrow and it flies through the air, straight and true.
 
Just before it can impact Svanna’s chest however, something almost impossible happens. Someone catches it. Well, not someone. Vayral catches it, naught but a quarter of an inch from her leather armor. As her Altmer appears from his concealment, having been with her and Mercer every step of the way, Svanna beams at him, and draws her own bow as well as a dagger for good measure.
 
She knew she could count on her Golden Altmer.
 
-x-X-x-
 
As I catch Karliah’s one super special extra ultra-cool paralysis arrow in my hand, I smile wickedly. Up on her ledge, the Dunmer Thief is frozen in shock, seeming quite flummoxed by where I came from and how I caught an arrow out of thin air. Heh, Deflect Missiles certainly wasn’t an ability in Skyrim, after all. But I’d made it one. In fact…
 
Before she can recover, before either her or Mercer can react, I spin the arrow around and flick it like a dart, sending it spiraling through the air and right into Karliah’s chest. She lets out a cry as she falls from her perch to our level, hitting the ground as the paralysis takes effect almost immediately, firmly putting her out of commission.
 
A second later, Mercer finally recovers from his own shock and snarls, unable to maintain his façade even in the face of me single-handedly taking down his nemesis.
 
“What are you doing here, boy? You could have ruined everything!”
 
I consider debating the point with him for a moment, making him either unravel or fix the mask he’s let slip away by pointing out rightfully so that I definitely hadn’t, and had in fact already taken Karliah down. But… it wasn’t like I was going to let Mercer kill the Dunmer woman, or take this as his win in the first place, so what was the point?”
 
“Shut up.”
 
As he’s opening his mouth in outrage, I cast Harmony on him. Harmony, with One-Thousand Skill in Illusion Magic. His jaw clicks shut, and he just stands there, completely and utterly pacified and unable to do anything about it.
 
“Now then… how am I going to kill you?”
 
As I stride over to him, fully prepared to end Mercer Frey right then and there, I’m surprised by a hand on my wrist as Svanna stops me and shakes her head.
 
“No. Can’t kill him.”
 
I blink as I look over to her in confusion.
 
“What? Whyever not? I was here the whole way, so I know you didn’t somehow bond with the jackass while traversing the ruins.”
 
Svanna confirms this by shaking her head in the negative, before peering at the pacified Mercer Frey curiously.
 
“His lockpicking. I want his tricks.”
 
It takes me a second to realize what she means, and I let out a laugh as it dawns on me that I forgot to tell Svanna about the Skeleton Key. In all fairness, it hadn’t come up.
 
“That’s not his skill, Svanna. That’s a stolen Daedric Artifact. That said…”
 
Mercer isn’t under my control, he’s just so pacified that he’s not even moving right now. I quickly correct that with some Charm Magic that strips the rest of his Free Will for him and hold out my hand.
 
“Give me the Skeleton Key.”
 
After twenty-five long years of getting away with it, Mercer Frey hands over his stolen goods without a single ounce of fuss, and I have the Skeleton Key in my hands at last.
 
I hold it up to Svanna with a smile.
 
“This is the Skeleton Key. One of Nocturnal’s most revered artifacts, and the reason that Mercer killed Gallus in the first place, because the man found out he took it. Not only can it unlock any door, but supposedly, Mercer used it on himself to unlock his potential, whatever that fucking means.”
 
I’m about to hand it over to Svanna… when I hesitate instead, my own words belatedly catching my interest. What DID it mean to unlock one’s potential with the Skeleton Key? No, more than that… Mercer was just your normal flesh and blood Nord. He had some measly potential that the Skeleton Key unlocked for him, and that he used to his advantage to avoid Nocturnal’s wrath and maintain control over the Thieves Guild for a quarter of a century.
 
But he was still just a man. And I… was not.
 
Svanna watches on curiously, as I give her a grin and shrug.
 
“Let’s find out, shall we?”
 
And then I turn the key on myself, and with startling ease sink it into my chest, through my armor and flesh without a hint of blood. It fits snugly into place, and once it will go no further… I go ahead and turn it.
 
…
 
…
 
Congratulations! For hitting Level Ten-Thousand, all Skills have had their old caps removed. All Skills now cap out at Ten-Thousand!
 
For hitting the Level Cap, you have unlocked access to the Console! Think ‘~’ to open the Console at any time!

-x-X-x-

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