A changeling's visit to Skyrim

“That’s it, we’re leaving.” Fenora stated firmly.

“What, but you only just arrived. And lessons have only just begun.” Mirabelle stopped her “Are you really sure you want to leave so soon?”

“You mages are nice and all, despite what the people of Winterhold think and say.” Fenora began “But Alduin and his dragons won’t just wait around while we’re lollygagging. You’ve got nothing on how the dragons were originally defeated, we’ve learned Luna’s magic is not in our power to solve, and Stross took an axe through his torso.” She listed off with a defeated sigh “I’m sorry to say, but I don’t think there’s any more you can do to help us.”

“I understand, but here…” Mirabelle handed her a few large magika potions “for your Princess. Good luck, and if you ever need us, we’ll be here.”

“Thank you.” Fenora gave a smile and a nod, and began walking across the precarious bridge with Stross on her back.

She turned and looked over her shoulder for a moment and to Mirabelle wave her off and disappear towards the Hall of elements, presumably to join the others in studying the eye.

“Wait!” a voice came from behind her as she had made it to the archway on the other side.

Brelyna ran up, stopping just short of crashing into her. “You’re not really leaving already are you?”

“The world won’t save itself.” Fenora told her, assuming it was obvious.

“I… but… what about Stross; he can stay here with us, right?” Brelyna stuttered “He can learn spells that will help you on your quest. I’m a fast learner, and we can study together.”

“I’ve taken down two of Alduin’s dragons so far, but I couldn’t have done it without Stross. We’ve pulled each other out of the fire more times than I care to remember already, and you see how well one of us fares when the other isn’t there to help.” Fenora reasoned “If I don’t-“

“I love him!”

The two elves stood there in silence for a moment, Brelyna had clasped her hands over her mouth and was staring in shock at her own outburst.

“I- I’m sorry…” she eventually found her voice “It’s just… he understood me so well, he listened to me when I spoke. I… he protected me, and I- Don’t leave yet. Please.”

“Brelyna, I’m sorry, but I need to make something clear.” Fenora walked over and placed a hand on the dunmer’s shoulder “Stross is mine.” Her tone suddenly became hard and her face bore a frown “I promised to stay with him, to never abandon him. On my life… on my heart and soul, I will never part with him. Do you understand?”

Brelyna could only stare into Fenora’s unwavering eyes, her lips quivering and tears welling up. “I…”

She couldn’t bring herself to say anything, and instead she pulled away, buried her face in her arms and ran back across the bridge to the college as her tears trickled onto the icy stone.

“Brelyna wait I-“ Fenora began to say as she took a step to pursue, but realized it would do no good. She had just broken the girl’s heart, and to follow, even with the best intentions would still only lead to further torment now.

Knowing this, Fenora turned away and continued into town, her eyes focused on the ground, her mind on the goal ahead, telling herself she did what had to be done.

“I was wondering when you’d come.” Luna said evenly when Fenora walked through the door of the Frozen Hearth.

“Oh, hey Luna.” Fenora replied, barely looking up from the floor as she took a seat next to her and setting Stross on her right. “So I feel terrible, what’s up with you?”

“I’m afraid I have some bad news.” Luna got straight to the point “I must leave you now.”

This snapped Fenora out of her guilty stupor. “What?”

“Indeed.” Luna nodded “I intend to seek my sister’s guidance in this matter, and to inquire the researchers at her school for gifted unicorns. Their knowledge of Equestria’s magic rivals even that of my sister and I; perhaps they will have a way to preserve it when I return to you here.”

“So that’s it, you’re just up and leaving?” Fenora asked as she grabbed a bottle of nord mead, though not bothering to uncork it yet.

“Tis not as though I wish to abandon you in the middle of your quest, nor this world in a time of need.” Luna assured her “And yet, without my magic to aid in the fight against these dragons I’d be usel- use… I could not be of any help.” she choked.

“I am sorry.” She added.

“No, it’s fine. I understand.” Fenora said as she glumly stared at the unopened bottle in her hands “You’ll need these if you want to make the trip.” She handed the stash of magika potions to Luna, but didn’t dare to look her in the eyes.

Luna accepted them and watched as her dragonborn friend sat there sulking. “I shall not, as they say, leave you hanging. I shall return. But pray tell, what do you plan to do now?”

“Mercer Frey.” Fenora said stiffly “He has the horn of Jurgen Windcaller, and right now it’s the only lead we have left. I figure if I walk to Windhelm now, then take a carriage to Riften and be there by tonight.”

Luna nodded and glugged down a couple of the potions, leaving the rest on the table. “Then I wish thee luck, noble hero.”

With that, she charged up her horn and the room was enveloped in a bright blue light, one which Fenora didn’t even bother to flinch at. With Luna headed back to Equestria, Stross unconscious and propped up against her, and only the crackling fire behind her giving any form of recourse from the silence, Fenora sighed and took a deep swig from her bottle of mead.

“Don’t trust Mercer.” Came a voice right next to her ear, causing her to spit her drink across the table in surprise.

Coughing and sputtering, she turned to face whoever it was that snuck up and startled the living ‘blivion out of her.

Only she found nothing. Fenora wiped her mouth with her sleeve and looked around her only to find there was no one else around save for Stross, who had fallen on the floor during her spit-take. Performing one last sweep of the room, she slowly sat back down and reached to bring Stross back up.

“Don’t you want to know why?” asked the voice from before.

“Gah!” Fenora whipped around to see a dunmer with gleaming purple eyes in old Thieves’ Guild clothing sitting next to her. “First off, stop that. Secondly, who are you? And thirdly… yeah, sure.”

“My name is Karliah, I’m a- I used to be a member of the Guild until Mercer accused me of murdering our former leader, Gallus.” She introduced herself “But I did no such thing, t’was Mercer who lured him into a trap and killed him, just as he killed any who discovered his secret.”

“What secret?” Fenora asked, curious to know more about the already apparent scumbag she was dealing with.

“That he’s been stealing from the Guild in order to fund his overly lavish lifestyle and betrayed our sacred covenant.” Karliah stated “I must know, where are you meeting him?”

“He never gave an actual meeting place for when he got the horn, so I assume Riften. If he’s not there, one of the others can tell me where he is.” Fenora told her.

“Do not bother; for I shall arrive before you, and I shall make him pay for what he has done.” Karliah said with anger dripping from her voice.

“Hold up, what about the horn?” Fenora stopped her “I need that thing if I’m going to stop Alduin from killing everyone in the world, and Mercer says he has it.”

“That is your quest.” Karliah dismissed her “I have spent years gathering evidence, undermining Mercer’s allies, and tracking him to a place to capture him alive and bring him back to answer before the Guild. I shall not have this chance be wasted.”

Fenora blinked, and the dunmer thief had vanished again. The door to the inn was held open slightly by the rushing wind outside before silently clicking shut again.

Fenora hurriedly trudged through the snow with the blizzard tugging at the cloak tightly wrapped around her. She held Stross onto her back in the tightly bundled blanket she’s wrapped him in to keep him warm while they traveled.

“Great, just great.” She huffed as she tried to keep up her pace. She truly couldn’t care less about what happened to that slimy guild leader, but if he died before she could get the Horn of Jurgan Windcaller from him, it would be leaving it up to chance if she’d ever get it at all. It could be lost along with his body, he might not even have it when he dies.

This wasn’t something she’d leave to luck.

Due to her inner thoughts, or maybe because of the poor visibility in the snow, Fenora didn’t notice the figure in black garb until he was only a few persons’ lengths away.

“Well well! Fancy meeting you here!” he yelled, his distinct sarcastic sneer detectable even through the wind.

“Guild master Frey, I was looking for you actually!” Fenora replied.

“Is that so?!” he stepped closer.

“Uhh… yeah, it is. Do you have Windcaller’s Horn or what?”

“I do.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a metal horn no larger than an ale flagon “But you won’t be getting it. My sources say that you recently spoke to a certain Nightingale, and ex-Guild member by the name of Karliah. That’s the interesting part, you see she told you a bit too much.

“She told you the truth about how I stole the master key from Nocturnal in the Twilight Sepulchr. She told you about how I used it to steal from the Guild’s vault, and how I killed anyone who knew, picking off my own one by one for the sake of maintaining my wealth.” Mercer rambled “And she told you about how I tricked her boyfriend Gallus into walking into that tomb with me and killed him, then blamed the whole thing on her! She told you I still sleep with a teddy bear. And she told you-“

“Actually, she didn’t tell me even half of that.” Fenora interrupted his villainous monologue “I don’t care about any of that stuff, now just give me the thingy so I can save the world!”

“Hold it right there Mercer!” called a voice over the howling gale.

Turning around, the two of them saw Karliah standing there with her bow raised and an arrow nocked.

“Hah!” Mercer laughed “Well met Karliah! But do you honestly think any of your arrows will reach me before my blade finds your heart?” he taunted and drew his sword of dwarven metal.

“You’re scum among thieves Mercer. You betrayed us all. Give me one good reason not to try.” Karliah said with a scowl below her hood.

“You're a clever girl, Karliah. Buying Goldenglow and Honningbrew to piss off Maven was inspired. But thinking you can defeat me, out in the open like this is a fools gambit!”

“Gallus taught us both well. To ensure an enemy's defeat, you must first undermine his allies. It was one of the first lessons he ever taught us.” Karliah recounted “Do you remember Mercer? Do you remember when we were just kids pickpocketing on the streets when he found us? He took us in, taught us the ways of shadow, and you repaid his kindness with murder!”

“Gallus had his wealth and he had you. All he had to do was look the other way.” Mercer countered “I had all the fortune I could ever dream of, but he had to go on about his worthless honor! I wasn’t about to go back to begging for spare coins, never again!”

“All your wealth, ill gotten. Did you forget the Oath we took as Nightingales? Did you expect him to simply ignore your methods?” Karliah questioned as she overdrew her bowstring.

“The Nightingales can burn! Perhaps it's time for you and Gallus to become reunited!” Mercer took a threatening step forward.

“The only ones who will be reunited are-“

“Oh for fuck sake!” Fenora shouted “Shoot him already!”

Karliah realized how long they'd been exchanging dialogue and finally let loose her arrow, but it went astray by a few inches. And that was all it took to sail right past Mercer’s shoulder and ping Fenora right in the gut.

“Oh, you suck at aiming.” Fenora strained out before the poison on the arrow’s tip paralyzed her.

“The elf is right, you always were a lousy shot.” Mercer spat “Perhaps you should try swords for once!”

“I'm no fool, Mercer. Crossing blades with you would be a death sentence. But I can promise the next time we meet, I will be your undoing.” The dunmer said before taking a shot from a flask and vanishing from sight.

“You were always a coward too!” Mercer yelled out into the storm.

He turned around to face Fenora, who was still on the ground, struggling against the poison to move even the slightest bit. “Well this is unfortunate for you, I’ll have to deal with that meddlesome dunmer later, but I’m afraid you know too much now.”

“Wh… whos fault… is that. Huh?” Fenora muttered through her slacked jaw.

“Well one thing I won’t miss is your smart-ass attitude.” Mercer said with a grunt as he grabbed Fenora by the cloak and dragged her towards the icy ledge overlooking the sea, unknowingly dragging a concealed Stross along for the ride. “Hasta la bye-bye, dragonborn.”

With that, Mercer pulled out his dagger and punctured Fenora’s windpipe for good measure before throwing her off the cliff and into the freezing waters below.