Skyrim: Band of Thieves

On the way out of the Cistern and the Ragged Flagon, where he found that many thieves were interested in observing their new Guild Master, Capper stopped by the fence and collected the armor of the Guild Master, the black version that was like Brynjolf and Vex wore. He guessed the thieves were like the Companions in terms of armor styles, in that the lesser ones had their own dress code and the higher ranks wore identical armor, even though he knew the Companions didn't hold fast to that rule, only a few did from what he had seen. With the armor in hand he set it aside in one of his bags before heading out into the open market of Riften, while the rest of the group followed him since this would be interesting, plus they knew he didn't want to reveal his powers to the entire Guild, rather only a select few would know this information. Brynjolf and Karliah were curious about what he was going to show them, which was fair since he hadn't explained anything to them yet, and they blindly followed him and his group through the Gate he placed in Riften.

A few moments later they found themselves in a brand new area that just caused their jaws to drop as they stared out at the surrounding city, the lands beyond it, and the kobolds that were walking around while tending to their various tasks, more than what they had seen so far.

"Wh... Where are we?" Brynjolf asked, as he was sure they weren't in Riften anymore, in fact it didn't look like they were even in Skyrim based on what he was seeing right now, though he was torn between wondering if they were in another province or a realm of Oblivion, the latter worrying him more than he was willing to admit.

"Welcome to the Opulent Lands, the Plane of Oblivion that I rule over... or Realm, if you prefer." Capper replied, where he let a bit of his energy wash over him as he shifted into his Princely attire, something that caused the pair to jump for a moment as they realized that he had been hiding something important from them since he joined the Guild, "Allow me to properly introduce myself: I am Midas, the Daedric Prince of Greed, Lord of New Beginnings, the Plunderlord, Lord of the Opulent Lands."

"A Daedric Prince... but... but that's impossible." Karliah said, as she knew there was no way for a Prince of Oblivion to even manifest in the real world, even though some Princes had ways of projecting their images into the world, like how Nocturnal was said to use a gate or lock to manifest a vision of herself to speak to people, despite the fact that all she had seen was the dark sphere that represented her Prince.

"Not really. I can seal my powers before using my Gates to enter Skyrim, so what you saw is basically me as a mortal... just a highly skilled one." Capper stated, which was the truth, without his powers and the Skeleton Key he couple pass as someone who happened to be highly skilled in the art of thieving, something he was fine with since that was his strong suit, despite the fact that he still had his golden soul gem power in his couple of forms, "If you don't believe me, I could have Mora vouch for me and back my statement up, or have my friends do the same and have them tell you what I'm capable of in my sealed state."

Karliah had to stop herself from breaking down at the mention of 'Mora', no doubt meaning Hermaeus Mora, meaning that the new Prince that was in front of them was connected to one of the most knowledgeable Princes out there and that there was no reason to doubt what he was saying, as odd as it sounded. As she and Brynjolf glanced around they discovered that all of the kobolds were busy, moving items from one portion of the city to another, where there were what appeared to be a number of shops and businesses, such as a brewery, an alchemist area, a smithy, and many others. In addition to that they found that the area they had warped into, the 'Nexus' as Midas called it, had nine portal frames and each lead to one of the nine Holds, as both figured if there was a 'Gate' for Riften then there had to be one for the other eight. They also found that there was a quarry on the outskirts of the city, where the pair found a larger amount of kobolds in a large mine, as they were digging into the ground and seemed to be extracting ores and gems, yet knowing the rules of a Realm of Oblivion it would only be a matter of time until they had to start from zero.

After watching them for a time Karliah opened her mouth to say something about Midas being the same as the rest of the Princes, dooming their citizens to be slaves to their whims, but what stopped her was that the kobolds were happy, in fact they seemed to be far happier than any other species in Oblivion, even the miners were happy.

"What... What is all this?" Brynjolf asked, as he expected the citizens of a Plane of Oblivion to be unhappy in some manner, all while presenting a happy front when their Prince was nearby or when their chosen protectors, like the Saints or Seducers for example, happened to be in the vicinity, but here everyone seemed happy, like truly happy.

"I'm the Lord of New Beginnings, remember? Everyone here was granted a second chance... sure, they have new bodies, but that hasn't stopped them from enjoying their new lives." Capper said, nodding to some of the kobolds as they hauled some of the ore from the mines to the smithy, as they had a decent amount of different ore, which he expected was due to how he collected every type of metal for his own Vault, so that was reflected in the ore in the ground, "You'll notice that those who have professions, like being warriors or mages or even smiths, are attending to their new areas and duties, while those that possess none are positioned in the mines or as transporters... we even have collectors, who help me loot bandit buildings and ruins in Skyrim. Now, the miners aren't forced to remain in the mines, so if they want to be something else we have the trainers to help them awaken new skills or even abilities, but do you see the miners? Most of them were bandits and those who had no skills, no abilities, no luck at all, but here they are, working with a smile on their faces because they've found a place where they belong, where they're happy."

"And that's not counting the fact that they can rank up, like a miner can become a warrior or even a mage." Mora added, as she had come to check on them and overheard the conversation, while at the same time noticing that Karliah and Brynjolf had noticed the newest addition, the dracthyr that was born from the dragon trapped in it's skeleton in Labyrinthian, which she knew was a gift from Akatosh, was getting outfitted in the smithy, "I'm even training mages to rank up to new types to help expand the expertise of the Opulent Lands... the amount of knowledge that this realm is producing is beyond what I thought when I first learned of Midas' existence."

Brynjolf took another look at the kobolds that were different from the others, as in the mages that were practicing, many of the warriors that were training, and the shadowy ones that were either watching them from the shadows or were running around a course designed to help teach them how to move like a thief. It was easy to see that Capper, or Midas since he was in his Princely form, had enough kobolds to take over all four of Skyrim's guilds, maybe five if he cared about dealing with the Bard's College, and if all of them could cross over into the Mortal Plane he was sure that they would take over in no time at all. That was if the Prince of Greed's goal was to do what all of the other Princes couldn't, take control of the world, but as he thought about it he realized something, Capper had been interested in gold and expensive stuff, like a thief going after a pile of gems or the like, meaning the most he could expect from him was an end to those threatening the land that he was interested in working with. As he thought about that both he and Karliah found another dracthyr, Ithelia according to what their host told them, who was different from everyone else and Capper introduced her as his Chamberlain, like Haskill in the Shivering Isles, yet felt like Mora, meaning the new Prince had two Princes serving under him.

In the next moment they stopped at an area that had floating steps leading to what appeared to be a platform floating far above the ground, giving them a good view of the entire realm, where a raven was sitting on a pedestal, yet on the floating area there was an elegant table with grand chairs, fit for two Princes.

"And now, onto the main event: Brynjolf, Karliah, you two will remain here. Raven, your mistress has permission to enter the Opulent Lands." Capper said, while at the same time knowing that Rarity and the others were waiting in the buildings near this area, waiting to see what happened next while Mercer was keeping his emotions in check, as Capper had a feeling that he would be addressed at some point.

The space next to the raven opened up in an oval of dark energy, light night itself, and out of it floated a light skinned lady who wore a dark robe with icons on the sides of the chest area and on the shoulders, while the chest area was upon to show off the inner sides of her breasts, and she wore a hood over her head.

"L... Lady Nocturnal!" Karliah said, dropping to a kneeling position as she lowered her head, this was beyond what she had been expecting when she and Brynjolf listened to Mora saying that Capper had company waiting to speak with him, while at the same time Brynjolf just stood there, unsure what to do in this situation.

"Karliah, though I am unhappy with you, you are not the reason for my visit to this realm... I am here to speak to Midas." the Prince stated, sounding like she was totally indifferent to everything that was going on, like this was a game to her and that the mortals were just pawns to her, yet Capper knew she was somewhat irritated and was keeping her own emotions in check, it was obvious due to how she said his Daedric name, "So... this is the Opulent Lands... far too shiny for my liking."

"Yet perfect for the 'Prince of Greed'." Capper replied, where he beckoned to the floating platform with a hand while giving the Prince of Shadows a friendly smile, while at the same time knowing that the others were already preparing some tea and other items for their talk, "Come, let us talk. I imagine we have some items to discuss."

Nocturnal stared at him for a moment, clearly wondering if he was trying to deceive her or something nefarious, before she came to the decision that he would be a fool for doing so after openly allowing her entrance to his realm, where she simply floated up to the platform and sat in the right seat as Capper took the left one. While she did that Nocturnal also noticed a few things, such as the fact that Hermaeus Mora was already present, in a new form no less, and there was a Prince that took her a few moments to recognize, as it was Ithelia, one Mora wished to erase the existence of, meaning if the Prince of Paths was back then the Prince of Knowledge had failed in the end. While this was humorous, she did like seeing Mora being beaten by Ithelia, especially since so many had had Ithelia's back since she had done nothing wrong and never abused the power she possessed, the very thing Mora was afraid of, Nocturnal was also worried. She could see that the new Prince's power was based on both his own wealth, something that this realm had plenty of from her estimates, and faith, just like all of the other Princes of Oblivion, and yet Midas had two Princes backing him as servants, specifically the Second and Third in Command.

She really had no idea what to make of this situation, especially since the Prince of Greed was calm and collected, like Ithelia had taught him how to act since her return, and as she thought about all of this a single creature, the natives of this realm, walked up to them and placed some cups in front of them before pouring tea into them.

"Now then, I can hazard a guess as to why you wanted to speak with me, but instead of wasting time why don't we cut to the topics you came to discuss?" Capper inquired, as he knew that the other Prince was busy and that she would rather be in her realm, making deals with mortals or doing whatever else she did in her realm, that aspect he had no idea about and honestly wasn't about to pry, rather he felt that them cutting to the chase would benefit them both.

"Fine by me. First order of business: I would like the Skeleton Key returned to it's lock in the Twilight Sepulcher." Nocturnal replied, as the sooner she was done with this the sooner she could return to her realm, though she did sip on the tea while keeping an eye on the figure that was standing nearby, a short scaly creature she hadn't seen before, yet it seemed to be a thief based on it's attire, "It is in your possession, is it not?"

"It is. Found it a lifetime ago, when I first visited Riften." Capper replied, where he held a hand out and the Key materialized above it, something that caused Karliah to drop her jaw for a moment while Mercer refrained from revealing anything, even though Capper knew the latter had to be freaking out inside since he had lost the Key and everything went downhill after he lost it, "Just tell me where the Sepulcher is and I'll be sure to deliver the Key. I no longer need it."

"I know you won't do this out of the 'kindness of your heart', as you are a Prince of Oblivion, just like us, and like all Princes you are expecting something in return. An exchange, if you will." Nocturnal said, where she reached into her robe for just a second before pulling out a sack that would fit in Capper's hand, an item she tossed over to him and he caught it, allowing him to open it and produce a dark ruby that looked like it was made of darkness, and there were a few more inside the small bag, "Shade Rubies, a somewhat rare item from one of my pocket realms, Shade Perilous to be exact... seven of them for the return of the Skeleton Key, as you will find the Sepulcher in the western edge of the Pine Forest, near where you found one of the pieces of Dagon's Razor."

"Good, I'll visit there and return the Key after our meeting is concluded." Capper said, as this was good, having new items to add to the Vault made him happy, to which he returned the Shade Rubies to the bag after making sure there were seven of them and placed the bag off to his right, allowing him to focus on Nocturnal once more, "I'm assuming that you would like to appoint new Nightingales to ensure that the Key remains safe this time, or at least until you feel like having some fun with the mortals?"

His reason for asking was because, as it stood right now, there were no Nightingales save for those who had been slain, as Karliah was likely an exiled member, Mercer had been slain and revived under another Prince's banner, and Gallus was long dead, meaning Nocturnal needed new members and fast.

"Yes, but I have deals in mind to fill two of those positions." Nocturnal answered, where Capper found her glancing at both Karliah and Brynjolf for a moment, no doubt meaning them in her remark, before she returned her gaze towards him while she thought about something else, "Tell me, are you going to turn the Thieves Guild into your followers?"

"No, they are free to serve whatever Prince they desire... but I expect them to be thieves and serve the Guild until they are ready to retire, or die in the field." Capper stated, which was the truth, he wasn't going to force the thieves to serve him, he was their Guild Master after all, so it all depended on each person and their own faiths, plus he also knew why Nocturnal was asking him this question, "If you want to make a deal with one or more of them, feel free to do so. What is the next item that you wanted to talk about?"

"Mercer Frey. His soul was to go to my realm, but you somehow caught his soul and claimed him. I want him back, so he can start his servitude in the Evergloam." Nocturnal replied, without missing a beat, she knew he was here, somewhere in this realm, and she was going to take him back so he could be punished for his crimes against her, especially since he had sold his soul to her first all those years ago, all while noting that the figure near them stiffened for a moment, "But again, I know you won't just give him over just because I'm commanding you to do so... even though he's mine, Mercer is technically one of your people now... so what do you want for him?"

"How about we make it simple? One of my followers for some of yours?" Capper inquired, though while he knew that he had the power to just give Mercer over, no strings attached, he wasn't about to correct Nocturnal and turn down a deal, not after she was willing to offer it in the first place, which told him that she was definitely annoyed in some manner and that it was affecting her decision making to some degree, "To be honest, the Guild is already fine with his punishment, so they'd likely ask if the trade was worth it since he's already in a world of torment."

Nocturnal knew what Midas was doing, he was indicating that the deal had to be worth it for him to hand Mercer Frey over, in fact she could tell that both of the other Princes that were watching them seemed surprised by his courage to say such a thing to her, and yet she admired his courage to suggest such a thing. She could tell that Midas didn't care too much about Mercer, since the thief must have wronged him in some manner as well, yet he was trying to get something for him before he handed him over, like a last repayment or something. She considered some crows from the Blackfeather Court, but was quick to dismiss that idea since this realm had a number of surfaces that might be able to show them their reflections and she didn't want a repeat of what happened the last time such a thing happened. Other than that she had her Shrikes, the brutal twilights and the fair twilights, and the Wraiths-of-Crows, all suitable servants from her realm and would be more than enough for this sort of deal, she just didn't know how many Midas would bleed from her to get to Mercer.

In the end Nocturnal mentally sighed and told herself that she was going to work Mercer to the bone once she got her hands on him, he was the cause of her inner annoyed attitude these days, before summoning an elegant piece of parchment and a quill, where she wrote some things down on it before letting the paper slide over to Midas.

"I will offer up thirty Shrikes, as in ten lessers and twenty greaters, twenty grievous twilights, twenty twilights, and five of my Wraiths-of-Crows... seventy-five souls, for Mercer Frey." Nocturnal stated, where in mortal terms it would leave her in the red for a long time, it wasn't easy to replace many of those servants, and she was banking on the offering being enough to tide him over and bring this matter to a close.

"It is a fair deal. I accept." Capper said, as he was sure he would learn a lot from the offered daedra and would be able to use them around his realm, maybe even let them enjoy their time in this realm, to which he handed the parchment to Ithelia, so it could be safely stored away, before tapping Mercer's head, who lowered his head and walked over to Nocturnal's side of the table, "Nocturnal, met Mercer Frey, reborn as a kobold and now returned to you."

"Is that what the scaly creatures are called? Interesting." Nocturnal replied, as it was good to know what the creatures were called, even though she had to admit that Mercer looked good in this new light, forced servitude in a form that wasn't even the one he had lived with during his time in the Mortal Plane, making her realize she should just leave him as a kobold, it fit him perfectly, "Now then, onto the matter of the Nightingales. As I said previously, I have two individuals in mind to take up two of the three positions that are available, but I require a third to complete the Trinity... I'm not foolish enough to ask that you serve that role, you are a Prince after all, so instead I would ask that the thief kobold, the one that is standing near the warrior and mage kobolds, take your place."

"Tri Ki? Well normally I would accept such a deal... but she is one of my 'Trinity', the first three kobolds I created, so she and her siblings mean more to me than many of the others." Capper said, which was the truth, he was attached to them for a number of reasons, just like how Azure and Rarity were attached to their own kobold companions, though he could tell that Nocturnal wasn't annoyed in the slightest, rather it seemed like she expected some push back, "However, if she is willing, I might be willing to accept the deal... but you would have to offer one of your followers in exchange, equal to her value mind you, and the exchange will only last until you decide to release her from her service. If not, well I'm sure we can help you find someone to become the third member of the Nightingales."

Nocturnal said nothing to that, not at first, because this was to be expected between Princes that were willing to deal with each other like this, if one wanted a servant of another they had to offer something of equal value, it was why she had also overpaid for Mercer Frey since she didn't like dealing like this. The problem was that she didn't have anyone that could fit the role of her offering this time, not unless she wanted to disrupt the courts of her realms, plus there was the fact that she was planning on keeping Tri Ki as a Nightingale until Karliah was able to secure three new recruits to replace her and the force she was currently building. That could take years and while time flowed differently in Oblivion she knew that the loss of such an important servant might have consequences she wasn't seeing right now, and right now she wasn't sure if Midas would be able to find her someone worthy to take on the role. She needed that kobold to become the third Nightingale, it was a fact she couldn't ignore, causing her to realize that maybe dealing with Midas had been a bad idea, his terms were both fair and harsh, there was no middle ground based on what she had seen, and it was definitely costing her.

In the end she focused on the Prince in front of her as she came up with her decision, signing another piece of parchment so it could be delivered to Midas, who raised an eyebrow when he noticed what she had written on it, as if he hadn't expected her to offer such a thing.

"For Tri Ki I will offer anyone who calls my realm home. A soul for a soul." Nocturnal said, it was a one to one trade, so while she had no idea who to offer in exchange for the kobold she was willing to allow Midas to enter the Evergloam and see her servants with his own eyes, a breach of security really, so he could pick someone and then be on his way, "The deal will last until I decide to release her from my service, at which point I'll collect my servant when I return Tri Ki to you."

"Very well. Welcome to the team." Capper replied, where Nocturnal realized that she had blundered as his magic went to work on her, her hands becoming slightly pointed like claws, beautiful feathers sprouted out of her arms, colored like forged midnight, that eventually took on the form of bird wings, while her feet and legs contorted into stunning bird talons and legs, complete with feathers, and her ears became pointed slightly, yet her hair took on the color of forged midnight, "You look stunning, Nocturnal."

"A harpy... how the people of Nirn once envisioned the race in question, beautiful and stunning, instead of the beasts they eventually discovered." Mora commented, though at this point she wasn't even surprised, Midas seemed to enjoy collecting Princes and showing them things that they missed while remaining stuck in their various realms, and she could see that the older Prince was looking at her new form, "Now you are capable of using Midas' personal portal to enter Nirn, despite having only a small amount of your power available to you... about two or three percent, really... you won't be able to attack him or harm him, and will have to obey him if he gives you an order, but honestly the deal is quite nice. You aren't forced to remain here, you can return to your realm and take on your other form, but when in the Opulent Lands this will be your form... I've gotten used to mine, and Ithelia loves hers... plus this allows you to work with the new Prince and the species he's created, and keep an eye on the servants you'll be sending to his realm."

Nocturnal stood there, unsure if she should be upset with herself, that she walked into such a blunder in her haste to finish her meeting with the new Prince, or fascinated by how stunning and mysterious her form looked, as she realized that she could slip into the shadows with ease and not be seen by many, save for Midas, before reforming nearby.

"As the deal states, you'll have this form for as long as Tri Ki remains one of your Nightingales, and when you release her I will do the same." Capper said, it was a fair deal, especially since Nocturnal could learn a lot more about the Mortal Plane while she was in this form, potentially even gain more than he could by the end of their deal, and he was sure that she also realized that this benefited both of them in the end, "Now then, let us discuss the transport of followers, are per our deals, before I deal with the Skeleton Key."

Nocturnal nodded and sat back down, allowing them to go over when she would collect the ones that would be coming here, as per the exchange for Mercer, and when they would be arriving in the Opulent Lands, where Capper nodded and smiled as he wondered what the coming days had to offer him and the rest of his group.