Skyrim: Band of Thieves

As the group got back together, and Capper made sure everyone was accounted for, they climbed onto the carriage once more before departing from Whiterun, as he had explained that he wanted to travel first and then set up all of the portals to link the Holds, and by this point the others were fine with it. Rarity knew better than to argue with someone like Capper, since he was a Prince now and there was no arguing with someone who had the power to manipulate reality like he could, even though she also knew he was still getting used to his new powers. The three kobolds that were with them were happy to have some time to relax, for them to compare notes on what they had done with their respective teachers, which brought a smile to Capper's face as he, Azure, and the others did the same, speaking once they were beyond the meadery. That was mostly due to the fact that he didn't want any of the guards to hear him talk about sabotaging the tasting, but for the most part it looked like none of the guards cared about them, allowing the carriage to leave the area outside Whiterun as they continued on their way back to Riften.

Capper was surprised by how easy it seemed to be to join the Companions, just talk to the leader, throw a few swings at one of the higher ranking members, run a few errands, and then do a small test in the form of taking out a small bandit camp, but he wasn't about to argue with the results, because Azure wasn't a thief and this was where he wanted to be. The rest of the group was surprised by the fact that Capper had stolen the rest of the mead that had been inside the meadery, along with the fact that he was planning on making one of his own in the Opulent Lands, but he just told them that he didn't want to waste good mead. He did pass around one of the bottles of the normal Honningbrew Mead and one of the Reserve bottles, letting everyone take a sip of the mead while seeing what he was talking about, where he could see that Midnight liked the mead, Azure seemed indifferent, and Rarity seemed to turn it down. The three kobolds were happy with it, likely remembering how it was to drink the stuff when they were bandits, and Capper was sure that the others in his realm would be happy to have the stuff when he allowed them to actually drink the stuff, since he wanted their meadery up and running before draining their stores.

Other than them talking there wasn't much else for them to worry about, as they were able to make their way to Riverwood, up to the Ruins of Helgen, and around the backside of the Throat of the World as they headed back to Riften, though they did stop near the house that was near the southern entrance of the city.

"Time to see what sort of beast is inside the house. Everyone stand aside, the Companions are here." Azure said, speaking to the people that were outside the structure, who turned and looked at him and Tuk Ur, no doubt surprised by how the pair looked, before they stepped out of the way to allow the pair to enter the house.

The beast, as it turned out, was just a bear that had invaded the house, where Azure stabbed and slashed at the creature as it charged at them, while at the same time his kobold companion climbed onto the bear's back before stabbing it a couple of times, allowing them to bring it down. With the job done Azure pulled the bear's body outside, allowing the people to see he had done the job they had hired the Companions to do, before moving it into the wilds, since leaving it inside the house was a bad idea, plus this meant that nature would reclaim the body and other animals would grow. He stared at the area that was around the house and silently dared the creatures to come at him, as he suspected that there were more wild animals who might be thinking of invading the house, only to find that no bears or wolves came charging at them. With the area clear for the time being he and Tuk Ur returned to his friends and they headed into the city, where they noted that it was evening now and that it was time for the people to stop selling stuff for the day, though Capper wasn't interested in that, rather he was making his way to The Bee and Barb.

As usual Rarity and the others remained on the lower level, Azure and Midnight getting some food while La'nari and the pair of kobolds kept watch, while at the same time Capper and Tri Ki headed upstairs, finding that Maven was still in the chair she had been sitting in when she gave them the job to head to Whiterun.

"I trust that you have good news for me?" Maven stated, where the lack of mentioning her punishment told Capper that she hadn't forgotten her threat, rather she was banking on her name being the reminder that if he failed she'd cast him into the dungeons and leave him there to rot, or have him executed for wasting her time.

"Yes, the job is done and I have the information you requested." Capper replied, pulling out the note he had found back in Sabjorn's dresser, which was still an odd place to hide such a thing, before he handed it over to Maven, who took it without delay and opened it.

Maven was, of course, annoyed by how little she actually learned from the piece of parchment, and was even more annoyed by how the symbol was the only identifying mark, especially when Capper told her that it had been linked to Goldenglow, to which she remarked that whoever it was would pay for messing with her business. Since the mark had been in two places that were connected to her business Maven told him to take the information to his superiors, and his reward for finishing her job was incredibly lackluster, just like before, it was just an enchanted steel dagger, nearly worthless since he knew that he wouldn't be able to get whatever it's full price would be. This was just further confirmation that he didn't like her, she was too cheap for her own good, offering those that work for her some of the more lackluster items, because she wanted them to remain in her grasp and dependent on her influence, but he said nothing as he and Tri Ki departed from the inn. Azure and the others noticed that they were heading out and Capper indicated that they were heading back to the Guild for some time, meaning they could rest up in the inn, maybe talk to some of the patrons, and maybe learn about some other areas that they could clear out in the future.

He and Tri Ki carefully made their way outside, finding that the guards were patrolling like normal while no thieves were out and about, allowing them to reach the graveyard and quickly activate the hidden passage before anyone noticed what was going on, and it wasn't long before the pair were done in the main cistern. It was easy to spot Mercer, who was standing by the table that seemed to be his personal work station, and it seemed like the Guild Master was still annoyed, like he might have failed another job while they were gone, while Brynjolf wasn't in the center like he had been the last time they came back from one of their assigned jobs. Capper glanced around and found that the rest of the thieves that were in this area of the Guild were either sleeping, out on an assignment, relaxing, or training on the dummies to hone their skills, or some of their combat skills since there wasn't anything to practice their thief skills on. That was when he found an area of the cistern that happened to have more archery targets and a number of practice chests, to practice lockpicking on, and Brynjolf was standing in one of the corners of the room, appearing to check their materials so he could see if they needed to replace any of them or not, before he turned and noticed them.

"Lad, it is good to see you and the little one again. I take it you've completed Maven's job?" Brynjolf asked, because Capper seemed to be one of the few thieves that he could rely on, he seemed to do everything to the letter and completed his jobs with a staggering display of precision, without people even noticing him while he stole from them.

"Yes, we did. We discovered some information about how Honningbrew Meadery was set up so quickly and found that the symbol from Goldenglow was involved." Capper replied, saying nothing about the meager payment for the job, rather he was focused on the task at hand and that meant tracking down whoever was trying to drive a wedge between them and their ally in Riften.

Brynjolf sighed, as this wasn't something he was hoping to discover, before telling Capper that he should speak with Mercer, it seemed like he had information that might be useful and was likely going to hand him a new job, which may or many not be the key to tracking down the one that was behind this, and sure enough Mercer looked up at Capper and Tri Ki as they walked up to his small desk.

"So, the 'prodigy' thief returns... I take it you've had luck on your job?" Mercer asked, his tone revealing that he didn't have any information on the symbol that had been on the bill of sale for Goldenglow Estate and it had annoyed him, especially since Capper was a newcomer and was having far more success than anyone else in the Guild.

"I completed it and found that whoever the symbol is connected to also had a hand in funding Honningbrew Meadery, which allowed them to get up and running so quickly." Capper replied, where he could tell that Mercer wasn't happy with this bit of news, which was understandable all things considered, though he had a feeling they would figure out who was behind this at some point.

"Our enemy is attempting to bring us down by driving a wedge between us and Maven... they're well funded and have been able to avoid detection for years, but even then they've made a mistake." Mercer stated, his tone suggesting that he had spent quite some time thinking about the information that had been brought to him earlier and Capper was sure that their leader had something important to tell him and Tri Ki, "Despite all of their posturing and planning they've left behind a clue that we can use against them: the Goldenglow bill of sale mentions the name 'Gajul-Lei', which is an old alias for an argonian named 'Gulum-Ei', a slimy bastard if ever there was one. Your job will be to head to Solitude and shake him down for any information he might have on our buyer... and maybe you'll figure out why he stopped contacting us a long time ago."

"Very well. I shall make some preparations and get underway as soon as possible." Capper said, because this was good for him and the others, as it meant he could link another Hold to the portal area, and depending on the route they took there was the potential for him to get one of the smaller Holds as well, though as he turned to leave he paused for a moment as he focused on Mercer again, "Oh, and the bill of sale didn't mention 'Gajul-Lei', rather it mentioned 'Gulum-Ei' by name... but it is good to know his alias, since that might convince him to answer us truthfully."

He honestly had no idea why Mercer felt the need to lie about what was on the bill of sale, to the one who retrieved it in the first place, and he honestly didn't care as he focused on gathering any information on Gulum-Ei that might be useful, though all he got was that the argonian worked in the East Empire Company and that he might need to be bribed. Once he was done with collecting the information he needed Capper talked with Vex and Delvin for a time, collecting a number of jobs that they needed done, since doing things in the other four main cities would allow them to regain their footing, and in the end he had a bag of items and a list of jobs to do. After speaking to the pair, who were surprised by how many jobs he took, he and Tri Ki returned to the surface of the city, where they sighed as a trio of thieves, novices no doubt, being executed by the guards as the latter used battleaxes to take their heads. Capper paused for a moment, to make sure the coast was clear, before letting his kobold companion head out to collect the golden soul gems that would have been dropped, as well as whatever loot the dead thieves might have had on them, a couple of gems, a few bits of gold, and the usual pitchers and plates made of silver, a common item for lesser thieves.

It was disappointing when he thought about it, as all of the other thieves that were trying to join the Guild were proving that they were incompetent, though he suspected that his new thief kobolds would be trained to be far better than what they were when they were mortals, once he got to training them.

When the following morning arrived he and the others used the Riften portal to return to Whiterun, confirming that things were working as intended, before Capper found that La'nari, Midnight, and Rarity were heading back to get the carriage, as they figured the Companions would have more work for Azure and this would give him time to do it. Capper nodded and let them return to Riften, while at the same time he, Tri Ki, Azure, and Tuk Ur headed back towards Jorrvaskr, though the pair of thieves remained outside as the warriors headed inside the building, since the warriors of the mead hall would likely have problems if they entered the structure. As he suspected it wasn't long before the pair returned, though this time around they had a newcomer with them, Farkas, one of the members of the Circle since he seemed to be above Azure, Tuk Ur, and the rest of the newest recruits they had accepted recently. Azure told him that they were heading to a nordic barrow to retrieve a fragment of Wuuthrad, as part of a test to prove themselves, which meant there would be a lot of treasure inside it that would be left behind since Farkas wasn't interested in what the dead had on them.

"Do you mind if we follow you? We won't interfere, rather we'll just collect the treasure." Capper asked, because it seemed like a waste to have the trio focus on a single item and not worry about the rest of the items that might be down there, so he was offering to leave them along as long as he looted all of the chests, containers, and bodies that were in there.

"Do what you will." Farkas stated, where it looked like he believed that they were just treasure seekers, in fact he didn't seem to care about Tri Ki all too much as he noticed her, even though he knew about Tuk Ur's skills, to which he lead the way out of Whiterun as Azure and Tuk Ur followed right behind him, leaving Capper and Tri Ki a number of steps behind them.

Capper found that the path Farkas took brought them back to Fort Greymoor, turning towards the northern mountain once they reached the fork in the road, heading towards an area that appeared to be a graveyard with a hill next to it, the latter being their destination by the looks of it. Sure enough Azure and Tuk Ur drew their weapons a few seconds ahead of Farkas, to which the three of them headed inside first and started to investigate the area for signs of trouble, where they found a fair amount of shovels and pickaxes, like someone had been digging here recently. As the trio moved forward Azure noticed that Capper and Tri Ki were already getting to work, looting the nearby chest and containers, plus checking the dead draugr for anything they had on them, allowing them to move forward and enter an area where a number of draugr woke up after one heard them coming. The group of draugr, six in total, had different levels of power, as a few were beaten with ease, a single attack from any of them was enough to bring them down, while one or two were actually really powerful, one tanked a few of Azure's blows before he was able to cut it down.

The tunnel on the other side of the door brought them to a decent sized chamber, a sacrificial chamber according to Farkas, causing them to spread out and search for something that would open the door in front of them, though Azure noted that the only lever was in a small indent with a gate that looked ready to fall. Azure and Tuk Ur glance at each other before just stepping into the area so he could flip the switch, causing the main gate to raise while the one directly behind them fell, to which Farkas chuckled as he approached the other side of the gate, like he thought this was funny. While this happened the trio, along with Capper and Tri Ki remaining in the shadows on the upper area of the chamber, discovered five warriors in a mix of armor, mostly leather with bits of steel mixed in while they wielded silver weapons, that told Farkas that they had been waiting for the Companions to arrive. This told Capper that there was a faction out there that hated the Companions, in fact one remarked that anyone who wore 'that armor', referring to the wolfish styled armor Farkas and his brother wore, had to die, and a moment later it became clear as to why they wanted the warrior dead.

Farkas was a werewolf, as he let out a growl as he transformed before their eyes, hands and feet being replaced by claws, fur grew all over his body as he discarded his armor and greatsword, a tail emerged from his spine, and his head pushed out into a wolf's head. The howl Farkas let out filled the barrow for a time, telling those that were deeper in the barrow that one of their targets had arrived, and it even caused all five of the warriors to pause as a shiver ran through their bodies, which he used to his advantage as he slashed through one foe with ease. Two of the remaining warriors were beaten back as he just swung his arms at them, sending them flying into the walls with a sickening crunch, and the fourth warrior barely had time to move as he was cut down, showing everyone just how dangerous his claws really were. The last foe, a female warrior, just stood there as Farkas knocked her to the ground and then tore a massive chunk out of her neck, killing her instantly, though as soon as the area was cleared he dragged his armor and rushed into the now open passage Azure had opened.

When he returned they found that he was back in his human form, wearing his armor, and he must have found another lever to pull to raise Azure's gate, allowing him and Tuk Ur to walk out as the warrior collected his greatsword, before taking a moment to look at all of them.

"I hope I didn't scare any of you... and before you ask, no, I'm not going to turn any of you into a werewolf. Only members of the Circle carry the beastblood inside them." Farkas stated, which seemed like an incredibly important piece of information for him to just drop on them, like it was something he shouldn't have told them, before he glanced at Capper, since right now he didn't trust the shadowy figure and his equally shadowy kobold that was with him, "You aren't going to say a word about this."

"Don't have to, there's a group that already knows your secret." Capper replied, though at the same time he started to loot the dead warriors, finding that they did, in fact, have silver weapons and a few even had silver ingots on them, plus since all of them died in his radius he and Tri Ki found golden soul gems to collect, before he glanced at Farkas, "If it makes you feel any better, we won't say a word about this."

Farkas nodded and told them that these were bandits known as the Silver Hand, werewolf hunters to be exact, though it did remind him of the Dawnguard, vampire hunters that had set up a base near Riften, something Capper considered checking out since that meant people might come after Rarity at some point. Sure enough as the trio headed deeper into the barrow they discovered a few more members of the Silver Hand, where Azure cut one down as his companions did the same to the second one, all while Capper continued to collect the coins and goods from the slain enemies. Capper commented on the fact that maybe they could smelt down the excess weapons into silver ingots, more in the vein of adding more wealth to his realm and less about keeping the weapons out of the hands of those that would use them against the Companions. While he did that Tri Ki made sure to gather what she could, though since there was a lot of armor and stuff for them to collect, and would likely be a lot more in the future, Capper let a trio of collector kobolds come out and join them, allowing them to focus on the loot as Azure, Tuk Ur, and Farkas cleared out more and more of the barrow.

Azure found that the Silver Hand were definitely here in force, like they were looking for the fragment of Wuuthrad as well, so in some places he and his allies had to focus on tacking out the draugr while dealing with the werewolf hunters, and while some of them clearly had no skills there were some dangerous ones mixed into the group. Sometimes he had to use the edge of his weapon to block attacks, while other times he had no reason to do so as he slashed through his foes, while both Tuk Ur and Farkas did the same thing to their enemies, before they discovered a passage that was interesting. There were areas of the barrow where the draugr would get up and actually engage the warriors of the Silver Hand, where sometimes the undead would win and other times the werewolf hunters would, before the trio tore through them with ease. He also knew that Capper had fallen behind but was still within range, given the golden soul gems that Farkas hadn't noticed, or maybe he didn't care about them in the slightest since he didn't care about magical items, but he was fine with leaving his friend to his business.

The two factions warring with each other became more clear as they entered another portion of the barrow, where it took him and the others less than a second to see that the floor below them was a battlefield, Silver Hand fighting draugr, and while a number of them seemed to be dying it was clear that the living were currently winning.

Once the remaining members of the Silver Hand finished cutting down their enemies one of them notice the group walking on the upper walkway that gave them a view of the battle, causing the warriors to rush into a passage that would no doubt bring them right to where Azure and the others were waiting. Azure and Farkas were like brothers on the battlefield, as they made sure to use openings the other left while taking down those that challenged them, and with Tuk Ur involved it was as if a group of brothers were fighting, meaning they were earning good points for the Companions. Such a thing meant that it was easy for them to clear out the way, especially since the Silver Hand woke up more draugr that ended up killing a few of the weakened survivors, allowing the trio to eliminate the rest of them, and as they moved forward Capper made sure to collect the treasure that was left behind. He was actually happy that they were allowed to come with the trio since there was a massive amount of treasure in this place, far more than he had assumed there would be, and part of it was due to the fact that the Silver Hand had a bunch of silver ingots on them.

Eventually they came to what appeared to be the final chamber of the barrow, a large area with a number of coffins, a large chest that Farkas let Capper loot while the collector kobolds remained outside the chamber to make sure they hadn't missed anything, though there was another strange wall none of them could read, plus a fragment of an axe on a table.

"We had better ready ourselves. This smells like a trap." Capper said, drawing his golden blades as Azure collected the piece of Wuuthrad, where they found that the coffins started to open and a number of draugr started to emerge from them, some being the lesser ones and a few being the higher ranking types.

Capper found that it was quite the battle as the draugr came at them, the lesser ones being the first ones to come out, only to fall in a matter of seconds, though it wasn't long before the more dangerous ones stepped out of their coffins and turned on the group, as he could tell such a thing thanks to their armor and better weapons. Farkas pointed out that things would be bad if they encountered a Deathlord, draugr in impressive armor and wielding ebony weapons, which caused Capper to look forward to fighting them since obtaining ebony would be interesting, for both himself and his realm. There were three Deathlords, as it turned out, and one even loosed a power that sounded like it was shouting, sending a shock wave of sorts at them and caused them to stagger for a moment, where one had a sword, a second had an axe, and the third had a sword with a shield, all made of gleaming ebony. He also discovered that the ebony weapons were stronger than the other types of weapons they had encountered so far, slowing him and the others in their assault, but the undead couldn't deal with the likes of Tri Ki and Tuk Ur, which allowed them to deal some serious damage to the undead.

When the last one fell Farkas glanced around for a moment, finding a number of golden soul gems and piles of gold, which he suspected was due to Capper's enchanted weapons, before he sighed as he sheathed his weapon and checked with the pair he was observing, finding that the fragment was indeed a piece of Wuuthrad.

"Good. Let us return to Jorrvaskr and share our victory with the others." Farkas stated, because he suspected that Kodlak would be pleased with Azure and Tuk Ur, they were shining examples of what Companions should be, while he felt that the same wouldn't be true for Capper and Tri Ki, but their skills in battle were actually quite nice, so he might judge the shadowy pair more fairly if they wanted to join the Companions.

Capper nodded as the trio departed, using a secret tunnel that likely lead to the start of the barrow, before letting the group of collector kobolds into the final chamber, where they started to collect the treasure and items that were around the area, though all of this wealth made him all the more interested in what he might find when he reached Solitude and started his next job for the Thieves Guild.