At the Winking Skeever in Solitude, a woman handed a crate of wine to an Argonian.
"Take it."
"Oh, you actually brought it. Must have been a pain to steal."
I had come all the way to Solitude on Mercer's orders to wring information out of Gulum-Ei.
I tried intimidation and physical force, but nothing worked on a man who had once been Mercer's associate.
Instead, he requested that I pinch a certain item he wanted from the Blue Palace.
Using the infiltration and stealth skills I'd picked up from the Guild, I managed to swipe it without getting caught. However, being treated like an errand girl was grating. I placed a hand on my hip and narrowed my eyes.
"There. Now, out with it. Tell me everything you know."
Gulum-Ei, busy stashing away his wine, finally opened his mouth.
"Some woman approached me. Said she had a big deal in mind and wanted me to act as the broker."
"What woman?"
At my question, Gulum-Ei tilted his head, replying that he'd never seen her before either.
"I wasn't keen on it at first, but she showed me a mountain of gold. I couldn't exactly say no, could I?"
He explained that he paid Aringoth the gold to buy out the estate, and once the woman had the deed in hand, she vanished.
"That's all I know. I don't want any more trouble with your lot, so if you'll excuse me."
With that blunt dismissal, Gulum-Ei took his wine and strolled out of the inn.
'Something smells fishy.'
A woman's intuition told me he was lying. Besides, if I went back to Mercer with such thin information, he'd surely throw a fit.
In the end, I decided to shadow Gulum-Ei.
I kept a distance of about fifty paces to stay out of his notice, moving naturally like any other passerby to avoid drawing attention.
He walked toward the Solitude docks, passed the pier, and slipped into the East Empire Company Warehouse.
A lone guard stood watch at the entrance. Gulum-Ei showed a pass, and the guard waved him through.
As expected of Skyrim's largest trading company, the security was tight. A normal person might have given up at the sight of the sentries, but I wasn't normal.
I just had to utilize everything the Guild had drilled into me.
First, I pulled an Invisibility potion from my pouch. While you can buy these in shops, I'd spent my spare time between training sessions studying alchemy books.
I focused on poisons and decoctions useful for stealth. I couldn't brew anything with the sheer potency a professional alchemist might achieve, but for my purposes, it was more than enough.
The guard wasn't glued to the door; he was standing about three meters away.
Even if my body became transparent, it didn't mean I became silent. The potion's power was purely visual.
Scent, sound, and even the subtle 'intent' or presence of a killer—true masters could sense it all.
I needed to be careful.
—Gulp.
Downing the Invisibility potion, I carefully suppressed my presence and crept toward the door near the guard.
The weathered wooden floors looked like they should creak with every step, but miraculously, they remained as silent as the grave.
Learning to walk without making a sound was a technique I'd naturally picked up while studying stealth under Delvin Mallory.
I'd mastered several of his odd tricks—like how to avoid triggering pressure plates or how to double the lethality of a bow shot by staying hidden. But I was still a far cry from matching Delvin's skill.
The man could move at a full sprint without making a peep. His backstabs with a dagger dealt ten times the normal damage. It was borderline supernatural.
I'd even seen him vanish from an opponent's sight mid-combat just by lowering his posture and instantly erasing his presence. It made me wonder if he was some kind of reaper wearing a human mask.
'Focus. Thinking about that later.'
I was on a mission. I tried to open the door to the warehouse after slipping past the guard, but—
—Clack.
Naturally, the door was locked and required a key. Luckily, stealth and alchemy weren't the only skills I'd picked up.
Lockpicking—a vital skill for this exact situation.
Essentially, the inside of a lock has several small pins arranged vertically. When these pins are pushed to a specific depth, the mechanism releases.
A key is simply a tool designed to push those pins to the right spots. If you can replicate that without the key, the door opens.
An expert can do it in seconds with the right tools. I pulled a lockpick from my back pocket.
I used a small blade to apply tension and carefully probed the tumblers with the pick.
I closed my eyes, focusing entirely on the tactile feedback through the metal wire as I nudged the pins. A moment later—
'Click.'
The lock gave way. I turned the handle silently and slipped inside.
The interior of the warehouse was a sight to behold. A massive cavern opened up, its center filled with enough water for ships to sail through.
Along the edges, gargantuan wooden shelves were packed tight with crates of expensive export goods.
Several ships were moored near the wooden walkways extending over the water.
Given the value of the inventory, the East Empire Company had hired private mercenaries to patrol every corner.
I carefully trailed Gulum-Ei, hopping across the tops of the high shelves to stay out of their sightlines.
Assassinating a guard or two would have been easy enough, but I preferred to avoid unnecessary killing.
Gulum-Ei eventually burrowed into the cargo piles on the far side of the warehouse entrance.
I watched as he moved past some supplies and disappeared through a secret passage hidden in the cavern wall.
—Thump.
Landing soundlessly on the floor from the shelving, I followed him through the secret door and into a deeper tunnel.
—Whoosh!
The moment I pushed the door open, a spiked mace trap swung down toward my face. I jerked my head back, the iron spikes missing me by a hair.
'That would have flattened my face...'
I'd learned almost every useful trick the Guild had to offer. I was planning on leaving soon anyway.
It wouldn't do to scar my face right before I was supposed to reunite with him.
I spotted a bear trap on the ground and sidestepped it. As I ventured deeper into the grotto, I found an unexpected presence.
Bandits.
Usually, I'd avoid a fight, but with bandits, the rules were different.
I immediately nocked a poisoned arrow and drew back the string. When the tension reached its limit, I let fly. The arrow buried itself in the left eye of an unsuspecting bandit.
"GAUGH!"
The man collapsed onto a table in searing agony.
—Spurt.
He coughed up blood and slowly expired. The toxin I'd smeared on the arrowhead was doing its job.
I systematically picked off the bandits one by one until I reached the end of the cavern, where I finally found Gulum-Ei talking to the bandit leader.
—Thwack!
"Gah! Who's there?!"
The bandit boss was wearing a helmet, so I put an arrow through his flank instead.
Enraged, the boss raised a warhammer with both hands and charged, intent on crushing me. He never made it.
The paralysis poison coursed through his system. He collapsed to the ground, twitching and coughing up blood.
"How did you find this place?!"
Gulum-Ei drew a dagger and lunged, but I caught his wrist, sent the weapon clattering to the floor, and pinned him down.
"Aagh! Stop! I yield!"
With his arm twisted painfully behind his back, he writhed for a moment before giving up and spitting out the truth.
The information was shocking. The mysterious woman went by the name Karliah.
She was the one who had murdered the previous Thieves Guild Master, Gallus, and fled.
"And now they say she's gunning for Mercer..."
This had escalated far beyond what I'd expected. I'd joined the Guild to grow stronger and learn their trades before eventually striking out on my own, but I couldn't just walk away from a mess this big. I had to see this through.
"Is that really everything?"
"It is! By Arkay, I've told you everything I know!"
He had no reason to lie now, and he didn't seem suspicious, so I believed him. I had one more question.
"Right. Do you know where Karliah went?"
"Not exactly... but I heard her mutter something about 'the place where the end began.'"
'The place where the end began?'
I hadn't the faintest idea what that meant, but Mercer probably would.
"Haha... I've told you everything, so please, my life..."
My business here was done. I wanted nothing more than to leave this wretched place. Gulum-Ei offered a pathetic, groveling smile, begging for mercy.
He was scum who collaborated with bandits for illegal profit, but Brynjolf had been very firm about not killing him. I decided to let him live.
"Thank you. I won't forget th—"
—Thwack!
They said don't kill him, they didn't say I couldn't hit him. Just for my own peace of mind, I delivered a heavy kick to his head.
—Gurgle...
Gulum-Ei foamed at the mouth and blacked out.
Having finished the job, it took me about three days to make it back to Riften. I entered the graveyard behind the Temple of Mara.
There was a massive stone sarcophagus in the center. I pressed the hidden button, and the stone slid back, revealing the secret entrance to the Thieves Guild.
—Step, step.
I descended the stairs into the Cistern, where the stench of sewage and rot hung heavy in the air. I approached Mercer, who was busy reviewing documents.
Honestly, every time I caught a whiff of this disgusting place, the urge to quit the Guild surged anew.
As expected of a den for life's rejects, there were plenty of creeps in the Guild who tossed around crude jokes or unwanted advances.
I laid out everything I'd pried from Gulum-Ei.
I told him how she had bought Goldenglow Estate and mentioned her connection to the murder of the previous Guild Master, Gallus.
The moment I mentioned the name Karliah, Mercer's expression soured.
"Hah... Karliah. It's been ten years since I last heard that name."
"You knew her?"
"We were good partners once. Not anymore. That woman must be caught, no matter the cost. Did you hear anything else about her?"
I mentioned what Gulum-Ei had said about "the place where the end began." Mercer paused, deep in thought, then his eyes widened as the realization hit him.
"Then there is only one place it could be. The place where she killed Gallus. Snow Veil Sanctum."
"And you're going there?"
"Yes. We're ending this ourselves."
This was starting to look like a massive headache. I rubbed my temples and looked at Mercer.
"I'm not thrilled about it, but I'll help. However, I'm exhausted. Can we push the departure to the day after tomorrow?"
Mercer nodded in agreement.
"Fine. Better to go fully rested and prepared."
I gave Mercer a dismissive wave and turned to head back to the surface.
The Guild had beds, but they were garbage and I wasn't about to sleep in a sewer. I planned on getting a room at the inn.
As I walked away, Mercer spoke up.
"I'll see you the day after tomorrow, Shylock. Or should I say... is 'Camilla' more familiar?"
—Freeze.
I stopped dead. I turned my head slowly, shooting a cold, expressionless glare back at Mercer.