The Thieves Guild had been buzzing lately. The cause was none other than their newest recruit.
She completed every request—even those deemed difficult for seasoned veterans—to perfection. When she wasn't on a job, she was in the Ragged Flagon's training room, practicing daggers, throwing knives, or bare-handed brawling against practice dummies until they were shredded.
Even when someone tried to strike up a conversation to get close to her, she either ignored them or offered blunt, one-word answers. Aside from business, she barely spoke at all.
She was a complete mystery. Brynjolf knew her as 'Shylock,' but he was certain it was a pseudonym. Eccentric personality aside, she was an excellent asset who never caused trouble and always delivered results.
Today was no different; Shylock was training with such intensity that the dummy was nearly falling apart. Since joining the Guild for her own reasons, she had grown significantly, honing not just her combat prowess but a wide array of specialized skills.
She was learning Archery from Niruin, Sneak from Delvin Mallory, Lockpicking from Vex, and Pickpocketing from Vipir the Fleet. Of course, the specific reason she was doing all this was known only to her.
'Not yet. I'm still far from satisfying that person,' Shylock muttered to herself.
"Mercer Frey is furious about this latest mess. Go see him," Brynjolf said, approaching her during her training.
Someone had been pulling strings to sour the relationship between the Thieves Guild and Maven Black-Briar, and Mercer was reaching his boiling point. Shylock followed Brynjolf to find the Guild Master.
"You're here. I discussed the information you brought from Goldenglow with my contacts, but no one recognizes that symbol," Mercer said.
"The same symbol was at Honningbrew," Shylock replied. Despite being a rookie, she spoke casually, as the Guild didn't care much for formal rank etiquette.
"Yes. There is clearly someone out there playing games to drive a wedge between us and Maven."
"Then I'll just kill them," Shylock said coldly. Before, she wouldn't have been able to kill a fly, but the 'System's' intervention had changed much about her.
"There's no need for that yet, but since they've annoyed us, we'll make them pay a heavy price. There was a name on the parchment you recovered: 'Gajul-Lei.' It's an alias used by one of my contacts—a fellow named Gulum-Ei."
"What do you want me to do with him?"
"Gulum-Ei is our spy embedded in the East Empire Company in Solitude. Go find him. Beat the information out of him or persuade him—just get it done."
Mercer gave her the task, adding that the pay would be substantial. He believed that despite her rookie status, she could handle this heavy burden.
"Consider it done."
She turned and headed toward Solitude to carry out the mission.
The morning after defeating Sahloknir, I sat at the desk in my inn room, lost in thought. Upon reaching Level 10, I had finally unlocked the Courier's second special ability.
A special ability requires 1 Perk Point to activate, and until then, I can't see any details beyond the name. The name of the second skill was 'Courier's Strength.' At first glance, it seemed like a good buff for raw power, but I remained cautious.
I wasn't sure if it was worth a precious Perk Point. Since it was a Courier skill, it might just be some useless passive that made delivery items feel lighter.
"Let's put it on hold for now."
It wasn't an emergency, so I decided to think it over later and straightened out my bedding.
Thump, thump.
"Mister! Come on, let's go get lunch!"
At the Dragonborn's call, I changed clothes and headed down to the inn's common room.
"Mmm—this is delicious!"
"Urgh... My stomach is doing somersaults. I can't eat a bite..."
"Ooh? Well, it'd be a waste to leave it, so I'll eat yours too!"
We had all been drinking until dawn to celebrate the victory over the dragon. Consequently, I didn't feel great either, and Eloise, having the weakest constitution of the group, looked like she was about to die.
"Setting that aside, what's the plan? Are you still leaning toward the Stormcloaks?" I asked the female Ha-neul while she was mid-chew. She paused, considering her answer carefully.
"I've been thinking... I'll just do what you said, Mister."
She finally gave in. Thanks to her concession, I could finally start the Civil War questline. After finishing our meal, we departed for Solitude.
The bandits around Whiterun had mostly been eradicated, so we made quick progress without much trouble. However, the sun had nearly set by the time we arrived, and Castle Dour—where General Tullius was located—was closed, so we decided to visit tomorrow.
As I approached the guards to secure permission to enter the city, one of them stopped us.
"Halt—wait, your face looks familiar."
The Haafingar region, where Solitude is located, was my main stomping ground back when I was just a simple courier. I had carried countless letters and packages between Dragon Bridge and the capital.
'Suddenly, I'm feeling nostalgic.'
I had passed through the main gates of Solitude so often that I was on a first-name basis with the gate guards. I pulled back my hood and offered a nod.
"Hey. Long time no see."
"It is the Courier! We haven't seen you in a while and were starting to worry. What happened to you?"
"As you can see, I quit the mail business. I'm an adventurer now."
"And these ladies?"
"My companions."
The guard welcomed me warmly, which allowed us to bypass the usually strict entry procedures of the capital with relative ease.
"You used to be a courier?" Lydia asked.
"Yes. I enjoyed the work well enough, but I decided to switch to adventuring."
"May I ask why?"
I couldn't exactly tell her I'd fallen into a video game, so I made up a plausible excuse.
"I just felt like doing the same thing every day was a dead-end job. Plus, I've always liked exploring."
"Interesting," she mused.
Chatting away, we entered The Winking Skeever. As I went to check us in, I overheard some of the other guests talking.
"You hear? It's finally happening tomorrow?"
"You mean Roggvir's execution?"
'Roggvir?!'
I was taken aback. Back when I lived in Solitude as a regular NPC, there was no mention of an execution, so I assumed it had already happened. To think it was tomorrow.
"About time he loses his head."
"Took long enough for the trial to conclude, that's for sure."
Roggvir is the central figure in a scripted event that players see the first time they enter Solitude. He was sentenced to death for helping Ulfric Stormcloak escape after the King Torygg was murdered. The public execution was meant to be a reminder to the people of what happens to those who betray the Empire.
'So it's tomorrow.'
As a Skyrim fanatic, I was curious, but I decided to pass. There was no reason to subject my companions to a gruesome execution. After checking in, I took a look around the inn I hadn't seen in a long while.
The place hadn't changed at all. But then, I spotted someone in black clothes talking to an Argonian.
The Argonian who always sat in the Solitude inn was Gulum-Ei. He's tied to the Thieves Guild questline, and if you talk to him before starting it, he just tells you to get lost.
It was strange to see him—a man who was always alone in this world—talking to someone. Then again, while he was a spy, he was officially an employee of the East Empire Company, so he could just be talking shop with a business partner. Shrugging it off, I went to my room.
The next morning, we headed straight for Castle Dour. The execution dock near the inn was already swarming with onlookers.
"What are all those people doing?" the naive Ha-neul asked. I told her it was an execution.
"Really? What did that person do?"
"Treason, from what I heard," Eloise chimed in. Ha-neul, who had once supported the rebels, looked at him with pity.
It was a legal execution, so there was nothing we could do, and I had no desire to see a head rolling on the ground. We moved past the crowd quickly.
During my life as a courier, I had zero interest in the military, so I never came near Castle Dour. This would be my first time seeing General Tullius in the flesh. With a hint of excitement, I approached the entrance. The guard on duty stopped us.
"What's your business here?"
"We're here to join the Imperial Legion."
"That's good news! We're short-handed as it is. Go inside and speak with Legate Rikke."
The guard granted us entry. As we stepped inside, voices drifted toward us.
"I told you, General. Ulfric is going to make a move on Whiterun."
"He wouldn't be that mad. He hasn't got the men for it."
There they were: General Tullius and Legate Rikke, deep in discussion.
'He's gone.'
I felt a surge of relief when I saw the man stop staring and finally head toward his room. I never imagined I'd run into him while I was trying to build my standing in the Thieves Guild. And he had even more companions than before.
"Is there a problem?"
I had been so focused on the man that I'd stopped talking to Gulum-Ei. I quickly snapped out of it. Just seeing the man made my heart ache again.
'Fine. I'll finish this last job and then leave.'