Skyrim: Band of Thieves

"So... Capper is a Daedric Prince... didn't see that coming." La'nari commented, where she and the others sat in a room that was in one of the buildings in the strange new daedric city, a building that was near the castle that had been built during the realm's construction, while she and her friends glanced out at the new realm, "Did you guys know about this?"

"Darling, if we had known we wouldn't have been as shocked as you were." Rarity replied, as she could understand where the khajiit was coming from, because she, Azure, and Midnight had known Capper the longest, and of them she was the one with the most knowledge on their friend, but none of their memories had information about this, "It must have started when he grew Jyggalag's sword, which would explain why every enemy after that point produced a golden soul gem when he was nearby."

"That sounds about right... he must have been coming to terms with his power, and his new responsibilities, and didn't want to weigh us down with that information." Midnight said, where Azure found that she was sitting in the window of the area they had stopped in, allowing her to stare out at the realm and the creatures Capper had created to fill it, even though she suspected the kobolds were just the first step in filling this massive continent out, "Losing the clan, our friends no less, was the trigger that fully awakened his powers, allowing him to fully embrace his new status as a Prince of Oblivion... though it sure looks like Bek-Kajin and the others are pleased to have a second chance at life."

It was easy to tell which kobolds were their former clan members, as Bek-Kajin, Brurid, and the others were slightly taller than the rest of their new kind, plus most of them seemed to be wearing kobold sized versions of their armor, even though there were a number that either wore fur and rags and a number that were exposed. Rarity knew that something needed to be done about this at some point in the future, she just needed to obtain a number of supplies and get a few volunteers to help her make clothing for all of them, which showed that it was one of her strongest skills, even though her magic seemed to be growing more powerful as the days went by. While Midnight thought about that she could see the kobolds carrying the spoils of war to the castle, be they chests full of gold and treasure, golden statues, or just the weapons and armor that had fallen over the course of the battle, servants delivering the goods to their lord. She honestly had no idea what else they were going to do, the kobolds to be exact, but she was sure that Capper had some ideas in mind and was likely talking to the odd dragon creature that seemed to be his second in command, like how she had heard that Sheogorath had a Chamberlin, on what to do with his subjects.

In that moment she and the others understood the titles Capper had given himself, as the treasure seemed to align with his 'Prince of Greed' aspect, desiring material wealth, while the 'Lord of New Beginnings' was also true since he had given all sorts of people, even bandits and those that murdered his friends, a second chance, even if it meant being kobolds.

"He's still the same person we knew, just with more power than he expected." Azure commented, because based on what he was seeing Capper was like Twilight Sparkle, both were seemingly ordinary individuals, save for having power that seemed to be uncommon, who were raised into godhood in some manner, yet still remained the same person despite having all sorts of new power and responsibilities thrust onto them, "Soon he'll come back and tell us we're heading back to Skyrim so he can join the Thieves Guild... that was always the plan from the beginning, since I think he was waiting to talk to Brurid about us leaving to seek our destinies."

"Though if we're being honest, at least two of us aren't cut out to be thieves, so he, La'nari, and Midnight might go and join the Guild together." Rarity remarked, because she knew that Azure didn't want to be a thief, in fact he was likely going to seek out the Companions when the opportunity presented itself to him, and she didn't have any skills in that field, but she also knew that La'nari was a thief and would be at home in the Guild, though Midnight she was unsure on.

Midnight shrugged for a moment, she honestly wasn't sure if she wanted to follow Capper into the Guild or go find another faction to join, because there were a few more when she thought about what they had discovered since arriving in Skyrim, so the truth was that she, Rarity, and Azure were thinking of tracking down the other guilds. One thing she knew while she looked at the kobolds was that there were warriors, thieves, mages, and archers, at the very least, meaning it was possible that they, too, could join the various guilds and learn from them for a time, causing her to wonder how the people of Skyrim would take the discovery of a new creature. The Stormcloaks, racists that they were, would likely hate the kobolds the very instant they laid eyes on them and claim that they were there to take Skyrim from the Nords, while the Imperials might like them, but that was just her best guess on the matter. While she observed the kobolds, however, she found the one called Ithelia was talking with Capper, along with Brurid and Bek-Kajin, plus three figures that seemed to be the first three kobolds, since the two born from elytra were born after them, based on what her group had gathered so far.

Eventually Rarity found that it was time to go, as Capper seemed eager to leave, to which she and the others headed down to the main street before making their way down to what appeared to be a circular area with nine arches that seemed to do nothing, and she discovered that the first thief kobold was standing near him.

"We're heading back to Skyrim, since I don't want you guys to feel like your prisoners... and we have some business that I'll need to deal with at some point." Capper said, as he intended on repaying Maven for her deeds at some point, but before that there was something else he felt like doing, which he was going to share with the others so they knew what the plan was and weren't caught off guard, before he gestured to their new companion, "This is Tri Ki, a thief who was part of the bandit clan we took out after retrieving the Sword of Jyggalag... she's actually happy to have another chance at life, especially since I'll be joining the Thieves Guild later, as she'll be able to join me."

"And I'll join you... Brynjolf will be happy to have me among their number again." La'nari remarked, because while she had left the Guild in the past, due to them failing too much, the loss of her clan, the family she had lived with for a long time, had caused a change in her, and right now she needed some time away from them to come to terms with everything, before she and the others focus on Capper, "So, um, are you going to return to Skyrim in your golden attire? Might be hard to hide if you are wearing this stuff."

"No, Ithelia told me that doing so would be bad for Nirn," Capper replied, where they found that he seemed to relax a little, as if he was releasing a breath he had been holding, while his Princely form faded, like it was being sealed as he was left in his thieving attire that he had taken from one of the dead thieves they discovered previously, "so for the time being my power will be held back, as 'Midas' will be shelved for the time being while 'Capper' takes the helm of the ship. Best if I leave my new nature for when we're in this plane, based on everything she told me after the realm was formed."

"That does bring up an interesting question: which name would you prefer we call you by?" Midnight asked, because based on what little they knew of the Daedric Princes it seemed like a good idea to call Capper by the name he wanted, and not just assume what he wanted to be called, hence her question, "Should we call you 'Midas' now, or stick with 'Capper'?"

"I would prefer just using my name, but I guess it depends on which form I'm in... so I guess use 'Capper' for when I'm not in my 'Midas' form." Capper answered, which was going to take some getting used to, the fact that he was a Prince, had a Plane of Oblivion to rule over, and had the start of his subjects spreading out to search the land he had created, which needed a lot more work to make it work for everyone, "Also, leave revealing who I am to me... if I feel the need to reveal that I'm one of the Daedric Princes, I'll do so... just act like nothing is different, okay? Rarity, what are you and the others going to do?"

"Honestly, darling, I have no idea. Maybe I'll follow you, help you loot some stuff, snack on some bandits... maybe practice my magic." Rarity replied, though at the same time Capper turned towards one of the arches and a portal appeared, where it looked like it would bring them somewhere outside Riften, no doubt a location that was along the road leading to the city, while at the same time giving them some safety so no one knew about their new secret.

When Capper turned to Azure and Midnight he found that the pair really didn't have plans, though at the same time he knew that the former Solar Guard might visit the Companions, because they interested him and Aela had talked a lot about them when she was with the group. He suspected Midnight might have other ideas, since she was a former Lunar Guard, but for the time being he decided to not pry as he turned towards the portal, allowing the others to gather near him before they stepped through it, allowing them to travel from Oblivion and arrive in the portion of Skyrim that Capper was focused on, a fact that surprised La'nari. Capper suspected that it was due to the barrier between Oblivion and Nirn, preventing the rest of the Princes from passing into this world, which might be another reason that the other Princes could come by for a visit, to which he rubbed the back of his head for a few seconds before they headed towards Riften. From what Rarity could see the flames from the assault on their hold fort home had died out, though she knew that heading back that way would only make all of them angry, so she focused on the path that was in front of them as she and the others followed Capper back towards the home of the Thieves Guild.

It didn't take them very long to reach the city, where it was early morning and the vendors were heading out to start their daily routines, though for the time being Capper and the others headed into the Bee and Barb, where Brynjolf was sitting at one of the tables, but while he was surprised to see them he gestured up the stairs, causing Capper to leave the others as he heads upstairs, where he finds Maven waiting for him.

"You're late, again. Keep this up and I won't be hiring you for any additional jobs... in fact, you'll likely be laying in a ditch if you keep this up." Maven remarked, which was fully to Capper, as they were well within the time frame that she expected them to return in, as she quite clearly stated that 'there was no time limit' and 'that she expected them by the end of the week', where he found that she removed a portion of the reward that was sitting on the table next to her, "Now tell me, did you you eliminate the Saints and Seducers like I hired you to do?"

"Of course, we eliminated both camps of both clans, and then cut off the head of the snake to be sure they don't come back in the future." Capper replied, where he made sure to keep his voice even and not give Maven a hint of the anger he had for her, since her orders destroyed the clan that he and his friends called friends, because he had plans for her and he didn't need her to ruin them, "The mage leading them was located in the Solitude sewers and we killed him, though on the way back we found that another clan had attacked the fort and both sides were wiped out... there were no survivors, which is why we were late getting back."

His reason for mentioning the attack was to make it sound like her people weren't involved, meaning she would be looking for them for some time and would be wasting resources trying to figure out what had happened to them, and he found that Maven didn't seem to care in the slightest. Capper suspected that she was taking note of what he said and what her people might report when she looked into it, though he was fine with her doing that, especially since she believed him so easily, to which she presented the reward for the job to him. As he thought the price had been cut in half, as Maven was doing literally everything she could to save money by cheating him and his friends out of their reward, despite having done the job in a reasonable amount of time, but instead of raising the alarm or questioning it he simply accepted the reward. With the gold in hand Capper excused himself, since it appeared that Maven had nothing more to say to him, before heading back down to the main floor and discovered that some of the other patrons, of which there were a few, were staring at Tri Ki, which wasn't a surprise since her species was utterly new.

For her part Tri Ki wasn't backing down, rather Capper could see that she was sizing everyone while her group waited for him to return, her thief side coming out while not drawing attention to herself, to which Capper walked down to where they were waiting and glanced at Brynjolf for a moment.

"I take it you are still looking for new members?" Capper inquired, keeping his voice low as he addressed Brynjolf, because he knew that some of the members of the Thieves Guild wanted him and the others to join them, as their hauls had been some of the best they had seen in recent weeks, before tilting his head towards La'nari and Tri Ki, "How about allowing the three of us to join up? I'm sure everyone will profit in the end."

"I'll consider it... but first, there is a bit of an errand I need to perform, and could use an extra pair of hands... and, of course, you would be paid for your time." Brynjolf replied, also lowering his voice so that only they could hear each other, while also noting that the rest of the group wasn't even surprised by Capper asking to join the Thieves Guild, before noticing that his new trainee nodded his head in agreement, meaning he was right on larceny being in Capper's blood, "Good. Now, while I'm out in the market I'll cause a scene to draw everyone's attention, and while they're all focused on me I need you to pick the lock on Madesi's strongbox and steal his silver ring... you'll know it when you see it. Once it's in your hands I'll need you to plant it in Brand-Shei's pocket without him noticing, and once that is done I'll wrap up the distraction and you will be paid for your time... provided you do it without getting caught."

Capper knew that this was different from Maven's jobs, it was actually a fair arrangement, do the job right and get paid or do it wrong and surrender the payment, where he headed outside and observed the market for a time, getting to know who was where, the patterns of the guards, and anything else that would be of use to him. He found that Madesi was an argonian that was selling jewelry near an opening that was near the smithy, there was a water well in the center of the circular area, and to the right of his stall happened to be a smaller one that seemed more like a stage, Brynjolf's no doubt. Across from his stall Capper found another one that belonged to a dark elf, who seemed to be Brand-Shei since the well dressed thief made sure to silently nod his head towards him, and Capper found that there were some crates near his target's stall, providing an area for him to sneak the ring into his pocket in. Such a thing made it easy for him to form a plan in his mind, though he also noticed a fourth stall diagonally from Brynjolf's, where a nord warrior in leather armor seemed to be selling armor and a few weapons, but it seemed like no one liked her and seemed to be steering clear of her.

In the end it seemed pretty straightforward, that even a novice could do this, but since the Guild was having problems he made sure to approach it as if it was a serious mission, so while the others hung back, to watch the job unfold, Capper just walked around and looked at the goods that were for sale, even though only Madesi's items interested him.

When Brynjolf finally started his distraction, however, Capper apologized to the argonian for wasting his time, only to find that he was fine with it, since his curiosity meant he might be back to buy something in the future, causing him to move off to the side as everyone in the market, even the beggars, gathered around Brynjolf's stall. While everyone did that Capper got to work, slipping into the area between the stall and the stone wall that was part of the market area, causing him to glance around before discovering that none of the guards in the area had noticed his movements, not even the people around the area knew what he was doing. With that in mind he pulled out the Skeleton Key, which seemed to be fine in his hands, even though he wasn't the Prince that had created it, and unlocked both the shutter that was in front of him and the lockbox that was behind it, finding a small bag of gold, a ruby, and a silver ring with special engravings and an amethyst set it in. It was an item that was easy to identify, just as Brynjolf said, though he made sure to take everything before closing the shutter, where he removed himself from the area and walked around, only half listening to the scam that was unfolding in the market, while at the same time noticing that Tri Ki was standing near Brynjolf for some reason.

It didn't take him long to reach Brand-Shei's stall, where he slipped into the area behind the stall and found that no one had noticed him, to which Capper pulled out the special silver ring and found an opening in the boxes, allowing him to slip the ring into his target's pocket, as well as remove his gold and a key that had to be for his stall, before slipping out of the area and moving to the side as Brynjolf wrapped up his distraction.

"Capper... I knew you were talented, but... what was that?!" Rarity asked, trying to keep the surprise out of her voice as she and the others stared at him for a moment, because it almost seemed like everyone ignored Capper, or just plain didn't see him, like he had been part of the shadows that no one paid attention to, all while noticing that Tri Ki walked over to La'nari after spending some time near Brynjolf.

"That, my dear, was the art of a high level thief... possibly even a master." Brynjolf replied, keeping the excitement out of his voice while lowering it so only they heard him, because this was beyond what he thought when he first met Capper, as the cat was far more than a simple thief, he had the skill to stand on Mercer's level, possibly even beyond that, meaning he likely found the one that would save the Thieves Guild, before he produced a pouch of gold, "It looks like I chose the right person for the job, so here's your payment... and there's plenty more gold in it for you, if you can make it to the Ragged Flagon, our base of operations, which is located down in the Ratway. Do that and I might have more work for you."

"Very well. Should be easy to do." Capper said, though he suspected that the missions after actually joining the Guild would be far more challenging than this one, in fact he was counting on it, before he noticed that Tri Ki had an ebony dagger that hadn't been there when they exited the inn, "Where oh where did you find this?"

"Found it on the ground near the stall... since no one came rushing to claim it I figured I could take it." Tri Ki stated, because she knew some of the rules that all of the guards lived by, such as 'discarded items could be claimed by anyone', and while the item hadn't been on the ground when she originally discovered it, as it had been on someone's stall, it had been quietly knocked off and she seized the opportunity when she saw it.

Brynjolf thought back to when he did the distraction and knew that he might have overreached when he grabbed the bottle his 'Falmerblood Elixir' was stored in, it was the only way the little creature could have gotten her hands on his weapon, to which he refrained from growling or making a scene. His reason for doing so was because the Guild's influence in Riften was lower than what it had been in the past, mostly because Maven was waiting for them to prove themselves before she fully gave the Guild her protection, which would allow them to bribe guards and do other things. Without that protection there was no way he was going to challenge the little creature over ownership of the weapon she had picked up, so for the time being he focused on making sure Capper and his companions knew where to find him and his group, even though Rarity and the others seemed more interested in remaining above ground right now. With that in mind Brynjolf departed from the area, allowing the group to see a pair of guards approach Brand-Shei, as he had nodded to them once the deed was done, and in no time Brand-Shei realized that he had a ring that didn't belong to him and was escorted to the prison.

With that done Capper, La'nari, and Tri Ki made their way down to the lower level of the canals, finding a door down there that La'nari said went into the Ratway, the sewers of Riften, though much like the Solitude sewers there was a stone path and no water in their way, meaning all they had to do was find their destination.

As it turned out there was a pair of individuals in the area just beyond the door they entered through who seemed to have a bone to pick with the Guild, in fact when Capper raised a hand they overheard how the pair of nords had set up this whole plan to rob anyone who came looking for the Thieves Guild. Apparently the pair thought that Brynjolf and the Guild were total idiots, beyond stupid in their eyes, for sending potential recruits down here, where they could kill would be thieves and strip them of their loot, to sell to the vendors in the market no doubt. That explained the sudden decrease in recruits La'nari had experienced before she quit working for the Guild, a pair of nords, no doubt belonging to a larger group that had been cut down to two people, were killing people before they could reach the Ragged Flagon. Of course that didn't explain all of the bad luck that the Guild had faced, which was why she had left them in the first place, but at least they now understood part of the problems that Brynjolf and the others were currently facing, one they would appreciate the removal of.

With that in mind Capper focused on the two nords as something interesting happened, one was coming their way, no doubt to keep an eye out for targets to slay, while his companion seemed more focused on the fire they had started, to which he had his companions hide in the shadows for a few moments before La'nari and Tri Ki stabbed him in his vitals before he had a chance to react. In the next moment Capper drew a blade and stabbed him right in the heart, where he found that golden sword had the same power as the greatsword he had created by merging the two golden blades together, it reduced the nord to a pile of gold and gems, leaving a golden soul gem behind. He paused for a moment and found that the blade was like a miniature version of the greatsword now, in fact both looked like they took on it's appearance, though this allowed him to learn more about his weapons and that he should be careful with them, since the treasure dropping could alert others to his position. Fortunately it appeared that the other nord was unaware of what was going on and continued to stoke the fire, to which the trio approached the figure before bringing him down as well, leaving Capper to finish him off, though once that was done a small portal opened nearby and a gray kobold carrying a sack walked out to collect the fallen treasure.

It was a system he and Ithelia had set up, that two or three kobolds could be left as collectors, gathering the treasure that was left when he killed an enemy with his blades, and they made sure to take everything of value that the two nords had been in possession of, to be sorted back in his realm, plus the golden soul gems would be waiting for him upon his return.

While the kobold did that Capper found that the path leading forward rounded a corner and discovered that the path, which was a wooden bridge, had been raised, though there was a tunnel to the left and one to their right on the lower level, though the left one seemed to be a shortcut of sorts. As such he dropped down into the lower area and found that Tri Ki used her new ebony dagger to stab a few skeevers, allowing her to add a few tails to the ingredients the alchemists could use and even collected a few more golden soul gems, which she gave to Capper. As it turned out the left path he discovered held a door that was easy to unlock, which brought them to a short of stairs leading up to a flat area, with someone standing over a table, before he decided to check what was down the other path, finding a trap on the door of the right path. He made short work of the lockpick and found that there were only skeevers down here, along with a beggar that tried to punch him, a fact that ended in his swift death, though Capper did collect his odd gloves, as they seemed unique, before finding that the rest of the path brought them to the backside of the guy by the table.

With that in mind Capper took that figure down as well, and he made sure to collect the book that was on the table when he gathered the figure's goods, before La'nari pointed at a door that lead to an underground tavern, causing him to grin as he wondered how the Thieves Guild would react to their success in getting here, and the success and wealth they would bring them in the days to come.