Skyrim: Band of Thieves

Capper found that getting Mercer out of the area proved to be rather easy, most of Winterhold's residents were either still asleep or were somewhere else, like the College or the other structures, though he also found that Karliah didn't have any carts to carry the trapped thief back to Riften, like she was relying on the collectors to aid her. Fortunately the rest of the group was waiting in the carriage outside, a benefit of him setting up all of the various portals in the Holds, so they were able to climb aboard it as he introduced Karliah to everyone, and they laid eyes on the trapped form he had left Mercer in. While La'nari got them underway Capper explained the situation to everyone else, that Mercer was guilty of stealing funds from the Guild's Vault, that Gallus had been looking into it, and that the current Guildmaster had murdered his predecessor and blamed it on someone else, which was Karliah. As such they knew that getting to Riften was the best course of action, hence why the khajiit that was in charge of the carriage, when it was in use, got them underway as they retraced the path they had used to travel from Riften to Winterhold.

While they traveled, however, Capper asked Mora for the translation tome and looked over it and the journal, mostly to see everything Enthir had translated while looking for additional information, before he returned the tome to Mora so she could continue her reading, as there was nothing else for him to gleam from Gallus' journal.

"The evidence clearly points to Mercer being guilty... I can only hope the Guild is willing to listen to reason." Capper said, as it was entirely possible that the Guild would attack them the moment one of them realized that Karliah was with them, so part of him was hoping they didn't do anything stupid while they revealed the information they needed to know.

"Yes, I would rather stop a potential bloodbath from happening, and if they're not willing to listen to reason you should have this in hand." Karliah commented, passing Capper what appeared to be a silver blade of sorts with a black handle that had an interesting symbol on it, which matched the symbol that was on Gallus' journal, meaning it was connected to the secret group the dark elf didn't want to talk to him about.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about our boss, he's got weaponry covered." Tri Ki said, gesturing to the blades that were on Capper's belt, the special golden swords that he rarely used right now since he was a thief and was avoiding taking lives, since that meant losing people and losing potential profits since they might become targets of a job in the future, "Trust me, those two blades are on a whole different level."

Capper said nothing to that as he accepted the blade, mostly because it seemed unique and would look great as part of a collection, before focusing on the road once more as La'nari navigated her way through the area they were moving through, which was also devoid of foes since they had cleared the area the last few times they came this way. It was always nice to have a peaceful ride, especially since he knew that the rest of the province wouldn't be nice, and this time around they also passed by two different patrols, one was the Imperials looking for the Stormcloaks and the other was the Stormcloaks on the move. It was interesting to see both sides working like this, even though it was clear that they were preparing for the next clash of the war, wherever it might take place, but since that wasn't one of their main concerns La'nari continued towards Riften so they could settle this matter once and for all. While she did that Capper suggested bringing the carriage to the back entrance, as in the southern one, since it was the closest to the Ratway and would be the easiest way for them to get Mercer down into the sewer without anyone suspecting anything.

Of course that did mean he had to alter the golden bits into something else, causing him to encase Mercer in mossy stone, as if they were going to add something to the sewers, and he made sure to leave his nose open so he would be alive once they reached the Guild, since having him dead on arrival would displease everyone.

"Can I ask how you're doing this?" Karliah asked, because she was still coming to terms with the fact that Capper was able to move quickly, enough to avoid her arrow and snatch it out of the air, but the fact that he also had the power to make Mercer turn to gold and stone made her wonder what was going on right now, where she found that the khajiit raised his right hand, showing her a golden ring with blue runes in the Daedric script and a blue gemstone where a diamond would normally rest.

"This: the Eye of Midas, an artifact of the Daedric Prince of Greed... he's a new Daedric Prince, one who hasn't had an interest in Nirn until now. Still figuring out the ins and outs of this artifact." Capper replied, as the more that knew about the newest Daedric Prince the less he would have to explain things, though he honestly didn't care for the power of belief that nearly all of the other Princes desired, "But one of it's powers is what you are seeing right now."

Capper wasn't sure if Karliah believed him or not, especially since he was telling her about the existence of a new Prince, but for the time being it looked like she was willing to go along with his statement, so when they reached the back entrance he, La'nari, Tri Ki, and Karliah climbed out of the carriage and started to haul Mercer's statue into the city. As he suspected the guards were either too busy with their work, watching over the market to make sure no one stone anything, or just going out on their patrols, meaning they were able to slip down into the Ratway without being discovered. Since they had cleared out this area in the past there wasn't anything for them to worry about this time around, so they were able to move Mercer over to where the entrance to the Ragged Flagon, where Capper undid the stone binding and allowed the bits of gold to remain over Mercer's body. With that done they moved forward and found that word had already reached Brynjolf of their arrival, as he and the other thieves that usually relaxed in the tavern area when they weren't on duty, but right now they were missing and he suspected they were inside the Cistern.

Sure enough when they entered the core of the Guild's operations he found that Brynjolf, Delvin, and Vex standing between them and the rest of the Cistern, and it was clear that two of them were armed while the man who recruited Capper was still unarmed, and in the area behind them had the rest of the Guild, who seemed to be annoyed as well.

"The lot of you had better have a good reason for coming here with that murderer... and hauling our Guildmaster around like a trophy kill." Brynjolf stated, his tone revealing that he wasn't too happy with what he and the others were seeing right now, especially since they had no idea that they had been tricked by Mercer when he came back from killing Gallus, which was why Capper had the others set down the trapped thief as he pulled out the translated journal, "What's that?"

"Gallus' journal, fully translated for your viewing... I'm sure you'll find it's contents disturbing." Capper replied, where he let the thief take the journal before he backed up, showing them that he meant no harm and that he just wanted them to know what was going on, something that caused Brynjolf to raise an eyebrow for a moment as he opened the journal to the start of Gallus' entries and started reading the translation.

For a few moments Brynjolf didn't seem to be impressed by what was written in the journal, but then the information turned to the more important sections of the text and his eyes revealed his confusion as he read Gallus' suspicions about Mercer and his allegiance to the Guild. It turned to disbelief as he reached the part about Mercer stealing from the Vault, the fact that Gallus had been looking into it while Karliah had been busy with her own duties, though what that was he couldn't tell, before a look of anger appeared on his face as he looked at Mercer. In the next moment he returned the journal before he had the pair, and the group, follow him back to the Vault, where he had a key to it, Delvin had a key, and Mercer had the last, so only two of them were required to be in agreement to open the Vault. This was the ultimate test of the journal's tale, the Vault was either full and they deemed Gallus a liar, something that would shatter everyone since they looked up to Gallus, or it would be empty and their rage would be directed to Mercer, who would be sent to the chopping block in no time.

Delvin used his key first and Brynjolf used his a few moments later, though when the door opened they were met with a sad and anger inducing sight, the Vault had been cleared out of everything and anything that had been inside it, there were only empty chests inside it, to which Capper caught Vex's arm before she drove her blade into Mercer's head.

"Let go of me. I'm going to kill this miserable asshole!" Vex stated, the anger in her voice as clear as day, especially since her face was one of rage, though at the same time Brynjolf reached into Mercer's attire and found the special silver and gold key that went to the Vault, his copy of the key, which he took from the traitorous Guildmaster.

"No, his fate should be decided by the Guild that he betrayed... or by the ones he tried to murder, such as Karliah, Tri Ki, and I while we were searching for Karliah." Capper replied, where he found that Brynjolf shared his thoughts, that they should sentence him as a group, instead of someone taking over and ending their former leader on their own, something that was followed by Capper turning towards Brynjolf for a moment, "If Mercer has a residence somewhere I should be able to get inside and see if he's hidden any of the stolen loot inside it... are you okay with that, or should we just focus on him?"

"No, we should cover all of our bases. Mercer has a house in Riften, Riftweald Manor, but he never stays there... just pays for the expenses and hired some lout called Vald to guard it." Brynjolf said, where Capper noticed that Vex seemed annoyed by the mention of the name, meaning he might want to talk to her before he tried to infiltrate the manor, before he sighed as he looked back at the empty Vault for a few seconds, "I can't believe he took everything we had... even Gallus' plans for new places to heist were taken."

Capper kept that in mind as he checked in with Vex, who told him that she didn't care about Vald, rather he was someone they could get away with killing even though he was indebted to Maven, something about losing a shipment, an important one at that, causing him to wonder what it might be about. With that in mind he had La'nari and Tri Ki keep an eye on Mercer while he was gone, because he wanted to make sure he was kept safe and sound before they decided his punishment, and once they agreed to watch over the man Capper returned to the surface of Riften. As it turned out tracking Maven down was rather simple, she was inside the upper portion of The Bee and Barb again, though while she seemed annoyed by him being there, since she hadn't called for him, she was willing to talk about Vald and his debt. She revealed that he was in debt due to a special quill, the 'Quill of Gemination', which was lost in the lake outside Riften and she had been unable to recover it, but she claimed that it, with the special ink only she knew the formula for, could allow her to duplicate any document she was viewing in perfect detail, causing him to realize she could use it for forgeries.

With that in mind he headed out to Lake Honrich and stared at it for a time, as Maven mentioned Vald hitting some rocks and losing the boat that the lockbox holding the quill was stored on, before smiling as he dived into the water and swam over to where the fractured boat was located. It was honestly amazing that Maven, who could hire some argonians to dive into the water at a moment's notice, couldn't find this area and he had found it in no time at all, where he lifted the lockbox and carried it to the surface, allowing him to return to the dock in no time. After returning to the dock Capper used the Key to unlock the lockbox and revealed a beautiful golden quill that looked like it was both metallic and organic at the same time, while having a metallic tip that was ebony, yet he could feel the power inside it, the spellwork that went into making it exactly as Maven ordered. As he stared at it, however, he realized the potential of this and, while no one was watching, he returned to the Opulent Lands, because instead of giving this to Maven, and giving her more power over Skyrim, this could be the first part of his revenge against her, even if he had greater plans for the item.

As such he tracked down Ithelia, who was conversing with Mora right now, and the pair finished up as he approached them, though both raised their eyebrows for a moment as they stared at the object he was carrying, no doubt wondering what he was doing with this particular quill.

"I had an idea for a new artifact: a quill that makes whatever is written with it a reality... like make someone punch someone else or have someone commit a crime in front of a crowd." Capper stated, where he held the quill out for the pair to look at as they thought about what he was saying, as this was more an artifact that fit Ithelia's plane, instead of Capper's or Mora's, before he let out a sigh as he understood what was going through their minds, "I know this could be dangerous in the wrong hands, but maybe we can write a rule about how it is kept inside a special container that requires all three of us to be in agreement on so we can open it? A rule that cannot be changed, and one that all three of us must abide by."

"Yes, I see it now... the 'Storian', an artifact of fate that allows one to shape reality... you know, Mora, this reminds me of how you feared that I would become the 'Unraveler'." Ithelia commented, though at the same time she rested her hand on the odd quill and felt the power that was already inside it, where she found that Mora seemed interested in it as well, since her hand was also on what was going to become a new Daedric Artifact.

"Normally I would not trust someone with this power, but Midas has proven that power is not what he desires, and I trust that he will use this power sparingly." Mora said, where Capper watched as the quill, the Storian as Ithelia called it, he liked the name, was empowered and raised to the level of a Daedric Artifact, in fact once that was done a silver and black box, one sized to fit the quill and had special looking locks that reacted to their presence, appeared nearby, causing her and Ithelia to withdraw their hands, "Now, go test it and let us see if it works as intended."

"No, not yet... first I need to set the stage." Capper replied, as an idea had formed in his mind and he was sure that he could pull it off, to which he carefully slipped the Storian into his pouch and found that the quill seemed to be protected from any and all items, causing him to nod as he slipped back into Riften.

With that done he quickly tracked down Maven and handed over the lockbox, telling her that the quill was gone, which was mostly to direct her attention elsewhere, before he headed outside and headed over to the house that belonged to Mercer, which was easy to figure out thanks to the raised ramp and the wandering guard in the backyard. There were also three locked gates leading into Mercer's backyard, where Capper just used the key and unlocked one, where he kept an eye on the figure that was moving around before he jumped around the ramp and pulled himself up to one of the manor's back doors, the guard unaware of his presence. With that in mind he unlocked the door and slipped inside, finding that there were a few bandits that had been hired as guards, though this time around he called in a few of his collectors as he pulled out both of his golden swords, allowing him to slash his way through all three bandits. Such a thing reduced them to a pile of gold and gems, which the collector kobolds gathered without delay, plus he made sure the golden soul gems were handed over, but once all of them were taken care of he found a closet that was oddly placed.

What he discovered was that it was a hidden passage into a series of traps that Mercer had set up to keep out any and all unwanted visitors, such as the flame tiles that didn't activate, the trap trigger that failed, and the swinging blades and ram that just stopped working, allowing him to reach a small study place that was definitely Mercer's.

"What do we have here?" Capper inquired, where he found a locked display case and discovered that it had a unique glass sword inside it, one that had a chilly aura around it, causing him to unlock the case before withdrawing the weapon, which he added to his collection, before he found a crate full of scrolls, a bust of someone he didn't recognize, a sack full of gold and gems, and, more importantly, more plans.

After collecting everything that was of value, and ensuring that he had the items that were important, he sent the group of collector kobolds back to the Opulent Lands before dropping down into an area he knew was connected to the Ragged Flagon, allowing him to return to the Cistern with his head held high.

"I found a bunch of incriminating evidence: a sack that looks to be from the Vault, still full of stuff, a crate of scrolls that are no doubt Gallus' plans, and a plan Mercer was studying... all under his manor." Capper said, where he set the items down in front of Brynjolf, something that caused the rest of the Guild to look at the contained traitorous former Guildmaster with a sea of hateful and angry looks, where he glanced at everyone for a moment, "So... I take it we've decided on what to do with him? Or do you need time to determine what his fate should be?"

"We have decided that Mercer needs to die... and, after listening to Karliah's tale, we agree that you should decide it, which wasn't easy to do since Vex wants to stab him. Repeatedly." Brynjolf replied, though he knew Vex wasn't too pleased with this, as she really wanted to kill Mercer now that his treachery was fully exposed to the Guild, something that caused the thief to turn towards Capper for a moment, noting that the cat was pleased with this discovery, "I take it you have an idea in mind to make him suffer for his crimes?"

"That I do. I would ask that everyone leave and gather in the market area... you're going to see a show." Capper stated, which caused everyone in the Guild to raise their eyebrows for a moment, but since Brynjolf was willing to listen to him they were willing to head out and gather around the market that had been where Capper did his first job, in fact even Karliah, La'nari, and Tri Ki followed after them, leaving him alone with Mercer, "This is going to be very interesting."

Capper made sure to turn Mercer so he didn't see what was coming next, though once that was done he opened his pack for a moment and retrieved the Storian, where he silently sent Ithelia a message and made sure that she and Mora were hidden in the area outside the market, as he wanted them to see this event as well. With that done he retrieved one of the pieces of paper that were nearby and started to write, letting the words flow onto the page as he described the scene, one where the former Guildmaster would seal his fate and be put down for his crimes. Once he was done writing Capper watched as the words turned a mix of golden and silver before turning to normal ink, causing him to nod as he put the Storian away and walked over to Mercer, undoing the golden bindings he had placed on the man. Mercer took one look at him and seemed ready to throw a punch at Capper, but that was the moment that he walked out of the Cistern, using the secret entrance like always, and he followed after him as they headed out into the market, where people were shopping and Maven was looking at items.

As Capper leaned against the wall of Maven's manor, and he noticed that the rest of the Guild was watching from the bits of shadow around the area, Mercer walked into the market, appearing to be fully in control of his actions, before he pulled his fist out of his pocket and punched Maven hard in the side of her face, knocking her to the ground.

"I heard you were looking for me. That's right, I'm the one responsible for all your grievances lately!" Mercer stated, though while the Guild knew that wasn't true they also knew that Maven had no idea who was behind Golden Glow Estate and the creation of Honningbrew Meadery, though as everyone realized the danger he was in Maven gave the command without even missing a beat, the guards arresting Mercer without delay.

That was only half of the scene, because attacking Maven, in broad daylight, was bad enough, but declaring that he was the one behind her recent troubles caused her to have him escorted to the outside of the Jarl's Keep, where a guard with a sharp battleaxe was brought in to behead him, which he did without delay. Sure, it was quick and bloody, and likely wasn't what a large number of the Guild wanted, especially since Karliah wanted a drawn out death for Mercer, but this allowed Maven to place all of the blame on a single person and could start looking at the Guild in a new light, for the time she had left since he had plans to bring her down and fulfill his revenge. At the same time he could see her looking his way, knowing that he and the Guild were watching, noting that they hadn't stepped in to stop someone they didn't want to be linked to, causing her to shift her eyes as she headed into the Keep, no doubt to get a potion for her wound. While that happened Capper also found a golden soul gem that was half covered in shadow near Mercer's body, which he collected with a smile, because now he could force Mercer to serve him once he turned him into his new form, but he slipped it away for the time being, deciding to focus on the Guild for the foreseeable future.

He knew there was going to be a lot of work ahead of him and the others, especially since many thieves would want to know what he had done to Mercer to get this scene to happen, but it only made him look forward to what the coming days had in store for him and the others.