“The innkeeper of the Dry Maid knows more than I do. You can ask him with a fee about your request for information.” the informant she threatened with a knife point on his neck, replied indifferently then gently pushed her hand and knife away. “You better not repeat this mistake again. Informants have deep connections with the underworld. Killing me would set them all against you.”

He scoffed at her frustrated expression and walked away then disappeared into the bustling crowds of the street.

She was now desperate. It had been months already since her wanted poster was spread around. Gritting her teeth, she covered her face once again with her hood and mask. Then she quickly turned and hurriedly went to the direction where the informant led her to while avoiding people’s attention. After several minutes of walking in the busy streets, she entered one of the noisiest pub in the western part of the city. She almost smashed the doors in haste.

The place was crowded as most adventurers and drunks. But all of them turned to her in surprised to the sudden loud sound of opening the doors. Then went back to their businesses as they saw her as just another typical traveler in haste.

She headed straight to the Breton innkeeper who was also busy attending to some customers. She pushed away the sleeping drunk form the counter, making him fall to the floor and sat on his place. The three customers just drunkenly laughed at his predicament.

“I want to know something.” She slipped three gold coins in the counter. Which the innkeep took and inserted on his breast pocket. He looked at the three people sitting before her and nodded. They stopped laughing and understood the situation. They quickly carried their unconscious companion from the floor and went to a nearby table then continued their drinking. The innkeeper drew closer to her ears and whispered.

“What do you want to hear?” he asked.

“I want to know the location of Vladima Es’Costella.”

He nodded and went back to his kitchen. Then came back with a letter that had its seal broken. And showed five fingers towards her.

She was surprised as she was actually just half expecting the information of such person. But immediately killed the thought as she told herself that this was the power of the underground world. She understood his gesture and slipped another five gold coins on the table. But he shook his head and mouthed the word, 'fifty' then smiled, showing blackened teeth. She had no time to argue as such she begrudgingly smashed a pouch of coins on the counter. The innkeep then gave her the letter after counting the coins inside the pouch.

Immediately reading the letter, she quickly realized that she may have been duped.

“This was already an expired information! Look! This information was last sent seven months ago! I asked you the latest!” she complained, pointing at the dates of the letter.

The innkeeper just sighed.

“Look. That’s my latest news about her. You should be thanking that you got anything worth your money even.” he just shrugged. “At most, finding a person that isn’t even well known in this continent is like finding a needle in a barn full of haystack.”

Knowing that he was right even though she doesn’t want to admit it, she quickly stood from her seat and went towards the exit.

“Fine! Thank you for the information!” She yelled as she slammed the door behind her. She crumpled the letter and threw it into the floor. Then stormed outside the tavern. She almost collided another man who wanted to enter the same door.

“Hey!” the man complained while his companion just glared at her. But she just ignored them. Seeing the blaze of vengeance in her eyes, they stopped and decided to let her go.

She breathed heavily in and out to calm herself down as she knew that she cannot think clearly with her temper on high state. Then she realized the cold wind that’s permeating the city streets. She looked around and saw some street firepits in the alleys where beggars positioned themselves to have some warmth while begging.

While warming herself temporarily by standing next to the firepit, she made new plans to track her prey. And on the corner of her eyes she saw a ragged beggar was enduring the shivering cold of the city.

She could sympathize as it truly was the coldest season of Skyrim and here the city of Solitude being surrounded by frozen rivers just made it even colder. She wasn’t the only one taking shelter in the wet freezing alleyway. Refugees, homeless, drunks and vagrants were also trying to warm themselves up in the fire pits, or by huddling together. He was alone though, begging in the opening of the alley. Taking advantage of the main street which was the entrance to the marketplace.

“Here old man.” she tossed him a gold coin as she passed through. She wished that this small price of charity would increase her luck in her search. Then decided to make a stop in the market to buy some meat before heading to a nice cozy inn.

“Warm yourself in the hearth of the tavern or something.” She wave her hand as she walked towards the central hub.

“Oh! May the divines bless you! Please accept my deep gratitude.” he bowed repeatedly. Then saw her insignia on her robe that was covered by her fur coat.

“If you have something good for my ears other than half praising the Divines then I will even be more grateful than you.” she stop, turned and joked.

The beggar then quickly recognized her and smiled.

“I might as well have... Lady Mycilla.” The beggar suddenly talked with a different tone and with shocking words. He also noticed that he got her attention as she stopped with serious face.

“Lady of Frostrayne.” he continued.

The utter of the name made her anger triggered. She hated such name. She heard the tales about the underground connections of beggars and how they would sometimes give out information in gratitude. The second thing that came to her mind was the Thieves Guild.

“You are not just a simple beggar are you?” she asked as she walked closer to him and he kneeled in the snow in response.

“I am just a simple beggar milady and we give back what we had received tenfold." He muttered while bowing.

She frowned and waited for him to continue.

"Us beggars know, see, hear and remember things that were considered treasured secrets by others.” he said. “I bring a message from our master. She is asking for your immediate presence.”

Master huh… probably that bitch of Blackbriar. She thought.

“If you managed to know that much then, that only tells me that my location was already compromised." She sighed, she was actually trying to run away from her debt collectors and investors that lost their investments because of her stupidity. And one of these investors was the most troublesome of all.

"By the way, are they already here? Is that what you're trying to tell me?” She was asking if her pursuers sent agents against her.

“No milady, my master never sent any agents yet.” The beggar shook his head.

“Tell her I will pay her once I found the bitch who scammed me. Wait, you deal with information right? This is actually fortunate for me. Could you tell me the location of Vladima Es’Costella? You know, the high bitch of High Rock.” she asked as she realized that she could probably get better information in the circle of beggars.

“No milady. But I have much better." He raised his face and grinned. "Your lord had returned.”

She was obviously shocked in hearing his statement then frowned. If this was true then there’s a possibility that she will be called in once again. But that wasn’t the problem.

"How is that an answer to my request?" She asked.

"He is calling for the attendance of every Thirteen." The beggar replied. A snowy breeze passed by as if to make it a decent cause for the coming thrill that’s crawling on her spine. “So you don’t have to find her as she will come to you.”

“This is… interesting indeed.” she grinned with a mixture anger and excitement. Her search had finally ended.

“I am glad that I gave you what you wanted to hear.”

“True, how much for another information?”

The beggar was about to answer but was interrupted by a familiar voice who came on the corner of her ears.

“I didn’t expect I’ll find you exactly where she stated Mycilla.” Mortred appeared on the corner of her eyes with his ever loyal companion Fang.

“I heard about your call. Is it true then?” she asked.

Mortred looked at the beggar then returned to Mycilla.

“It seems that he already told you. And yes, I need your help this time.” Mortred confirmed.

The beggar then bowed towards the two and bid himself back to where he was earlier. And went back to begging as if nothing happened.

“Where is Vladima?” She asked.

“I’m afraid that I don’t know.” He shrugged. But Mycilla was having none of it and quickly lounged at him with two daggers from each hand, aiming for his neck.

However, Fang stomped the ground with her left foot, making a quaking effect and the earth in front of Mycilla instantly formed into a solid spike of soil, stopping her in her attempt.

“You.will.tell.me!” She glared at him but he only shook his head.

“You haven’t changed a one bit… that’s reassuring at least. By the way, I haven’t even meet her yet so how should I know?” Mortred shrugged.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“Wait… so that means…”

“I was actually on my way to see her.” Mortred said.

“I’ll accompany you then. I’m sure you don’t mind.” Mycilla demanded.

“True.”

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The cold would have already struck his toenails with frostbites if not for his natural resistance to the freezing wind. Still, he had to wear several layers of thick bear fur just to keep himself warm. The long beard and hair also helped him avoid the cold wind from reaching his neck and most of his face. He was accompanied by his horse as he was skinning his recently caught stag. It would fetch a good price in the city later. The hunter was preparing his horse when a raven flew overhead and went to the perch of his wooden house. It had a small scroll on its claws, carrying a message. Unrolling the paper, he reads through the coded message. Then he threw it on the burning campfire that he was about to put out. After confirming that it turned into ashes, he took a bucketful of water and poured over the blazing firewood. Then stomping on the last embers, making sure that there will be no spark to cause a wildfire. It was last thing that he wanted.

"Shit, I have to meet a shitty woman again." He spoke out loud his annoyance.

Then after knowing that he will be leaving nothing important, he galloped his horse on the rocky road towards Riften. His previous planned destination was Windhelm but he had to pass the information personally on a certain someone on the underbelly of the City of Thieves.

It took him three hours to arrive in the city then passed the long line of travelers, refugees and outsiders that wanted to enter the city. He went straight to the soldiers at the gate.

"Halt!" A soldier that was armed with spears and wore thick padding of fur that made it hard to know what kind of armor he was wearing. "Don't you see that there's a line? Or is this your first time to enter the city?"

He sighed at the berating soldier and showed his insignia that was on his upper chest, hidden by his cloak.

"Oh! Erm... Y-you may pass. I'm sorry." The soldier hurriedly apologized and bowed.

Several other soldiers at his view quickly understood and nodded. Then they gave way for him as they let him pass. The peddlers that were being inspected on the gate also saw his insignia and didn't bother to ask anymore why he was given better treatment. He reined his horse to move forward as he entered the city. The influence of the guild had now an obvious effect on everyone. But he still don't know if this was good thing or not. Because for him, it will grab attention from more people and he hated being on the spotlight at this point of time.

Thieves are supposed to walk with the shadows.

He shook his head and decided to focus for now on his current task.

The streets were crowded and busy as ever. It was so noisy that it was deafening to his sensitive ears. He had to cover his head with fur to protect his sense of hearing. He passed through many stalls and went straight to the place on the side of the city. He went down from his horse and tied the reins on a nearby tree where it could graze as it waited.

He leapt over the tall pointed fence that surrounded the place. Thankfully, no one was there, or maybe it should have been obvious as it was a cemetery. He went to a small well at the corner, that was recently built. It had a small fountain with a small figure of a humanoid rat taking a piss. Which was quite insulting to the place of rest for the dead. But the one who decided to had this built was quite powerful to make anyone who complained to sleep with the dead here.

He looked at the shallow water that was almost covered by algae and moss, thankfully it was not contaminated like the waters that surrounded the city. Then he jumped. It was shallow that he quickly reached the bottom then the metal plates that was the base of the well, turned and allowed his body to be swallowed into the depths. And close with a quick thud, leaving no traces of someone entering it. The small well quickly filled up with water with only the horse to witness the disappearance of its master.

He was now on a dark abyss where anyone would panic in seeing nothing in the risk of drowning. He dived through the dark waters. Knowing that it was intentionally built to have no air pocket here, he quickly swam even deeper. seemingly blindly underwater. He had to use the walls of the flooded pathway to guide himself. After several minutes underwater and nearly drowning, he washed up on an opening and was helped out by several men. They gave him dried clothes to wipe himself with.

"T-t-thanks." The water was very cold that his skin was already whitening despite his resistance to the cold. Another person gave him a hot bottle of mead to warm himself which he accepted and quickly drank. He quickly undressed himself and put on the cloak that was given to him.

"You should've used the other path, you should know how cold it is this month." A woman grinned at him as she tossed him another set of clothes to change.

"This was the quickest way than your stinky maze. And I don't have time to be delayed by your skeever problems." He spat back. "Anyways, I bring news. I need to meet your mistress. Is she here?"

"You know her, this is now her second home... Or you could have used the entrance instead but well, you don’t like seeing old faces." That line earned her his glaring eyes. He was irritated that she knows him that much, which would always the source of her teasing.

"Just leave woman, before I send you away by force." he sighed.

"Ohh, how commanding. You still haven’t change. But I don't hate men like that." The woman left waving her hand back.

He surveyed his surroundings and saw how the place had change even just on his several months of absence. It was now cleaner and well-lit, the stained walls were now reflecting how it was maintained frequently. This was thousand times better than a dripping ceiling and cockroaches all over the place from long ago when he joined.

He stood up and asked the nearby people where he could change, and he was led to a private quarters. He change quickly from his wet clothes and hanged them on a wooden pole. Then he hurriedly walked back, towards the exit of the halls. He noticed more new faces as he pass through the numerous people that wore black leather suits. The Guild was truly getting larger.

It took him several minutes to arrive at the door which he knew to be the exit. As he opened the door with a metallic creaking sound, he was greeted by the crowded underground pub.

"So how was your job?"

"I got a job for you at the Red Quarter mansion. The master wanted someone to-"

"We take advance payments here for every job. If you can't pay that then try the surface rats if you want."

"I don't bargain, my stocks were high quality that aren't worth of your measly coins."

"Aaaahhhh, the previous job was so difficult that I think I should take a rest for now, I got good money from that anyway."

“How about we visit the brothels later? I’ve got my eye on a new pair of women in this certain establishment.”

"I'm tired, get another agent instead."

He pushed himself on the crowd while avoiding getting into unwanted attention. Then he stood at the table that was near the counter, waiting for the seat to be vacated. As the three people that sat suddenly stood up and left, he quickly moved in an took a seat. The barkeeper immediately recognized him.

"You should take a shave once in a while, why don't you try the barber we had on the surface, just show your pin and she will give you good service free of charge." He gave his new customer a bottle of mead and a plate of spicy beans which were his usual favorite order.

"I'll try that later thanks." He drank the mead and tossed a fistful of beans on his mouth, getting a combination of spicy flavor with sweet and bitter combination. "I'm here for her, is she available for a talk? This is important."

"Yes she is here and she is sitting beside you right now." A deep voice of a woman came from his right side where it was previously a vacant seat. He turned and saw the person whom he considered as the top person among the list of people he hated to interact with. The barkeeper just smiled and went to the other customers on the corner. Giving them a space to talk.

"Maven." He growled softly.

The woman was wearing her usual rich and flamboyant dress that would make most men forget that she already had children on their late teens.

"So how was your life as an information broker from your former occupation as a king, Ulfric Stormcloak?" The Mistress of Riften sneered.

This was one of the main reason he hated her. She was so confident in her control of the guild that she would yell secrets of others without getting worried of them leaking outside. If he could punch her, he would've already had but this wasn't the time for that. He answered her with same indifference.

“I bring some important message from my men. Is this a good place?”

"Speak freely, no one could hear us or foolishly try to eavesdrop on our conversation here." She drank her goblet of wine. He didn't fail to notice dozens of figures that were subtly blocking their surrounding from other people while covering it up by drinking or talking.

Ulfric drank his entire bottle before answering.

"The operation from Morrowind was a failure. But we were able to confirm that two of their major houses were connected on the raids on your slave trades. You may have a powerful competition there.

"..." She kept her silence, waiting for him to continue as she took a grape from her bowl of berries.

"We still don't know of their real plans but I also confirmed that the city of Falkreath is their cover target while making the city of Ivarstead their base of operations." He softly added while audible to hear. "And we got another serious information that could probably endanger your influence on the neighboring provinces."

He signaled for another bottle on the barkeep.

"One of your candidates to be the guildmaster was the third son of a noble house in High Rock and from the movements of their agents, it seems that his family was planning to use your guild to strengthen the information network of his home kingdom. And the dunmers are starting to move their ‘assets’ here on Skyrim."

After uttering the revelation he brought, he felt something went cold on his side. Although no one could see it but the woman that was sitting beside him was seething in anger. He could feel the space around her was bending, as if avoiding her in fear. Then as quickly as it rose, the rage dissipated. She replied with a sigh and filled her goblet from a bottle of wine again.

"Have you confirmed that information?" She asked.

"Why do you think I went to you personally to tell you this instead of a raven or a messenger?"

She went silent for several minutes which made the people around her, stiff. Then she stood from her seat.

"Walk with me."

He stood up from his stool, left behind a gold on the counter and followed Maven. Although others couldn't notice it but he could sense how a net of protection was surrounding them.

Quite natural from a paranoid and control freak such as her. I am still deeply confused on what did Mortred saw from her. He thought.

They went on a small pathway where they stopped. Then they entered small room in the corner, and was guided by an elderly woman. Then on the next corner they passed on a stinky beggar that was trying to warm himself on the fire pit. He led them to another room where seven people could make it crowded. The beggar left them and locked the door. One of the men that led them all the way tapped his foot on the floor and the floor slowly lowered itself. A new floor covered their head and they were sent into the depths that lit by few dwemer lights which surprised him.

"I never would've thought that there is a dwemer ruins under Riften." Ulfric eyes wandered across the strange halls.

"You don't and there isn't." Maven spat out. He knew the implication.

"How and when did you discover this place?"

"After the civil war, my men found this as they are trying to build some pathways."

"Does Mortred know?" He asked.

"No." Maven said. “Not yet anyway.”

This must be very important for Maven to make it even a secret to her most powerful partner-in-crime.

He kept his mouth shut and continued in silence. Then they stopped moving on a small cavern that was fully lit by Dwemer lights. He could hear the stirring of gears and moving pistons echoing on the distance.

"So what is this place? And why did you lead me here?" He decided to ask the question.

"I know the dunmers than you ever did when you were ostracizing them in the past." Maven replied. "They know how not to mess with others as long as they don't get provoked first. As such, my first thought of why they were starting these raids was someone or something stirred them from Skyrim."

"My first suspect of course was the Dragonborn’s involvement in Vvardenfell’s excavations fifteen years ago. He knew that it would probably antagonize the dunmer houses but yet continued on his pet project. But in my investigation, he probably had no part on this."

Maven led him to another part of the hall where several scholars in hooded masks were studying the walls.

"Then I later realized that all of the troubles started after the discovery of these ruins and after I denied the entry of the high council members from Morrowind on my city." Maven sighed. "I had my men investigated further on why this ruin attracted the dunmers so much that they are willing to antagonize me."

As they walk further, the sounds of gears and pistons went louder.

"Then we found something."

They stopped walking as Ulfric found himself in a large cave that could house two cities on top of each other. But instead of cities, what was displayed in front of them was a static giant where the lower half of its body was hidden by the large body of clear water lake. Making the upper chest area and head the only visible part.

"I was not well versed in history so I invited a lot of scholars that I trust to know what this is." Maven pointed at the ant sized men at the distance, who were climbing the head of the colossus. "And all of them refer to it on a single name."

"The Numidian." He mentioned the mythical weapon used by the past emperor to conquer whole of Tamriel.

Maven nodded.

"But as our investigation goes by day, my scholars realized that this wasn't the exact Numidian that was used in the past conquest… but a prototype. This was the very first model and creation of Dwemers… the Gargantuan.”