Chapter 14

Chapter 14

     When I went back to the Cistern the very same day and told Brynjolf and Delvin I had to go back to Solitude immediately they both looked at me like I had told them I wanted to wear a mudcrab on my head.  I didn't blame them, either, seeing as we had kind of just escaped from there.  The more I read Ulfric's letter, however, the more convinced I became that whatever was going on was something I needed to know about.

     "Are you sure, lad?  I know that you know it's best to give a city you've hit recently a few weeks at least to let it settle down," Brynjolf reminded me while trying to make it seem like he wasn't criticizing my methods.

     "Yes, I know.  I can't wait even a few days.  The guards there never saw my face and there's no way they would connect me to Delvin and Aetra's escape."  I was impatient to be gone, even though I knew spending a couple minutes explaining things to them wouldn't really make a difference.

     "If you would explain just what is so important that you have to run off like a startled colt, maybe we could help you," Delvin suggested.  "Does it have something to do with Miraak?"  I glanced at him sharply, and he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender.  "Vex told me what happened on Solstheim while we were waiting for you to get back."

     "I don't know.  Probably not."  It was a good question though.  What if Miraak had launched a dragon attack on a city or something?  But no, that made no sense.  If there had been a dragon attack Ulfric would have summoned the Dragonborn, not a Stormcloak general. 

     "You don't know?"  Brynjolf raised his eyebrows.  "You don't even know why you're going to Solitude, and yet you're about to tear off with no explanation?"

     I shuffled my feet impatiently.  I didn't want to explain the note and my reasoning to them, not because I didn't trust them with the information but because I felt like there was no time.  "I got a summons from High King Ulfric, and it was written by him personally.  I have reason to believe that I need to ride to the Blue Palace as soon as possible."

     "You have 'reason to believe'?" Delvin echoed.  "Well, that makes perfect sense."

     By the Divines, this summons had better really be worth this argument.  "I can't really explain, I just need to go," I insisted.  My shoulder abruptly gave a sharp twinge and I started distractedly massaging it again.

     "If you're going back to Solitude you should at least let one of us ride with you," Brynjolf suggested.  "Not to interfere, but to let the Guild know if something goes wrong."

     I stopped instantly.  "What could possibly go wrong with me going to Solitude to answer a summons from the High King?  Anyway, Gulum-Ei can provide any information you'll need," I pointed out.

     "Fine.  Will you at least take Aetra with you?" Brynjolf asked. 

     Startled, I glanced around to make sure no one else was in earshot of our conversation.  "I thought you didn't trust her.  Why do you suddenly want to send her to Solitude with me?"

     "Because I can handle this search better if she's not in Riften to look over my shoulder, and Delvin found her a job in Whiterun," Brynjolf stated.  "She would just be riding with you until you get there.  Delvin," he shot a look at the thief, "thinks she's not a threat.  I still think she's hiding something."

     "Then why do you want to send her with me?  She could just as easily leave a day or two after me and reach Whiterun just fine."  Brynjolf was really up-in-arms about Aetra.

     "Because you can handle yourself better than anyone else here.  Keep an eye on her while you travel together and see what kind of impression you get," he suggested.

     I could see he wasn't going to give up on this, so I finally agreed with the requirement that Aetra needed to be ready to leave in half an hour.  She did even better and was ready in ten minutes.

     There was nothing else to be done except let her ride with me at least to Whiterun now, so we saddled up our horses in silence.  Aetra was using a Guild horse, since she had no animal of her own. 

     As I placed my foot in the left stirrup and swung myself up onto Gormlaith I suddenly realized how tired I was.  So far today I had made the climb down from the Throat of the World, ridden to Riften from Ivarstead, had several long and exhausting conversations, gotten a summons from the High King, and now I could look forward to a long night's ride. 

     I had gone for days without sleep during the Civil War and I knew I could do it now, but that didn't mean I had to like it.  Dusk had already fallen and full night would soon creep over the land.  I intended to ride a little over halfway to Whiterun, but instead of taking the slightly less direct route to Ivarstead I was going to cut straight across country.  I knew the pathless woods would be pitch black, but I had full confidence in Gormlaith's ability to navigate in the darkness.  That unfortunately meant we would camp in the middle of nowhere around dawn, then most likely be on the move again by midday.  Which meant that I might get four hours of sleep. 

     If I hadn't been so flustered by Aetra accompanying me I would have realized it would be best to stay in Riften overnight, but I wasn't about to back down now.  I had said we were leaving tonight, so tonight we would leave, sleep or no.

     We rode into the woods, and I glanced sideways at Aetra.  She said nothing as we rode along, just stared straight in front of her between the horse's ears.  Not that I exactly felt like having a conversation with her, but as Brynjolf had said, I might as well try to learn a bit more about her while we were stuck together.  Besides, if I didn't talk to her I thought I might actually just fall asleep in the saddle.

     "Sorry about the late start," I tried.  "I have to get to Solitude as soon as possible."

     "I don't mind traveling at night," she said stiffly.

     There was an awkward pause in which I tried to think of something to say to that.  "At least this far south it isn't too cold yet."

     "True" was all she had to say to that, though I admit it was a pretty lame attempt at starting a conversation.  She acted more like she just didn't want to talk to me than she just didn't want to talk at all.  I didn't know what I had done to earn her dislike so early, but I'd like to know what it was.

     "You don't like me, do you?" I said bluntly, as more of a statement than a question.

     "What?"  She looked up at me for a split second then went right back to staring between the horse's ears.  "No, that's not it."

     "Then what is it?"  At least I had managed to get her to say more than a handful of words that time, but I wasn't convinced by her words.  A lot of people hate me, and she was acting like one of those people. 

     What can I say?  I just rub off wrong on some people.

     "Nothing.  I'm just not the talkative type."  She shrugged.

     I wasn't convinced, but I let it slide.  "Did you pick the horse?" I asked.  "He's a beautiful color."

     She rubbed her hand up and down along the stallion's neck.  I knew he was Vipir's horse, because his was the only pure white one in the stable.  "Yes, but not for the color.  I can tell he's a sprinter, with the powerful hindquarters and stocky legs he's got."

     So she knows something about horses, I thought, surprised.  "Thinking we might need to run?"

     "You never know.  I could have used a fast horse on some of my jobs."       

     "Mercer always said that the mark of a good thief wasn't necessarily not getting caught in the act, but getting away after you were caught," I said bitterly.  Gods, how I hated Mercer, even after the blasted traitor had been dead for years.

     Finally she did look up, and by the pale light of the moon I could just make out a look of curiosity.  "I only stayed at the Guild a short while, but I heard that name mentioned once or twice.  No one seemed interested in saying any more though.  Who is he?"

     I am not, by nature, a violent person.  Okay, maybe I am a little, but all true Nords enjoy a good fight.  I'm fairly sure that the rage I feel every time I hear Mercer's name isn't the healthy sort of violence a true Nord should wish to experience, since it made me want to rip something to little pieces whenever I heard it.

     Still, for Aetra to really incorporate herself into the Guild, she needed to know its past.  Why did I have to be the one to tell her though?  "Mercer Frey was the Guildmaster before me."  I stopped, trying to think of how to say the rest.

     "So what?  Did you have a falling out or something?"

     The way she spoke was so dispassionate and uncaring that it sent me all the way over the edge.  "Sure, if you call Mercer betraying the Guild for his personal wealth, stealing a very important relic from our temple, killing the former Guildmaster, luring me into a trap and stabbing me through the chest, then trying to steal our plans for important heists having a falling out." 

     There was a long silence, broken only by the muffled thuds of the horses' hooves on the leaves.  "I didn't know," Aetra finally said in a low voice.  Again there was silence, then she added, "I know what it's like to hate someone that much."

     I didn't answer.  Gormlaith picked up on my tension and snorted, the sound echoing through the dark woodlands.

     "Did you kill him?"  She looked straight at me this time, and I looked away.

     "Yes.  When one of our own betrays us, we take care of it."  The words were as much truth of the past as they were a warning of the present for Aetra.

     "I know what betrayal feels like as well."  Now she fell silent, a brooding look consuming her face.

     I was uninterested in hearing it at the moment, which I knew Brynjolf would be annoyed with.  This was the perfect opportunity to ask Aetra some in depth questions about her past, but any desire I had to chat had faded away at the mention of Mercer.

     She started to say something else, but I drew Gormlaith up sharp and hissed at her to be quiet.  What was that?  I thought I saw lights up ahead, but we were nowhere near a town or city. 

     "What is it?"  At least she had the sense to use a low voice.

     "Lights."  I pointed, now sure. 

     "Hunters?  Bandits?"

     "There are too many.  Let's leave the horses and take a look."

     "That's not a good id-" I just glared at her, daring her to test my authority.  She stopped and dismounted, shaking her head.

     We left the horses next to the shelter of a thick stand of fir trees and crept through the woods, staying low to the ground.  As we slowly drew closer I could make out rough voices shouting and the banging of steel upon steel.  I furiously searched my brain, trying to remember if there was a mine or something around here, but nothing came to mind.   My straining ears caught the quiet thump of booted feet on the forest floor, and I grabbed Aetra's arm.  She stopped, looking at me questioningly then following my eyes. 

     Two people were silhouetted against the sky up on the edge of the little hill we were at the base of.  They talked in low voices for a moment, then one walked on to the right while the other continued left. 

     I could swear.... No, it was impossible.  But by the gods, the men looked exactly like....  I had to know for sure.  I practically stood up and ran in my haste to get to the top of the hill where the men had just been.

     There in front of me, tents dotting the countryside, horses stamping at their tethers, and soldiers marching everywhere, was spread an Imperial camp.

This is very, very unedited.  I'd be obliged if you could point out any mistakes xD