Skyrim: Band of Thieves

After Sharva was done learning from the Greybeards, and they learned that no more answers would be given until she had returned with the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, the group departed from High Hrothgar without wasting another moment, as they had only be allowed inside for the introduction lessons.

"I suspect that when we return with the Horn they'll welcome you for real, maybe open their home to you... I'm assuming for training purposes, to help you focus your Thu'um." Capper said, speaking as they started down the Steps, putting a bit of distance between them and the monastery that the Greybeards lived in before doing so, though he found that none of them were remotely tired, which was understandable since one was a vampire, another was a werewolf, he was a Daedric Prince, and then there was the Dragonborn, so La'nari was keeping up nicely, "Sharva, what do you feel like doing?"

"Let Midnight do her thing... the Horn can wait for a few more days." Sharva replied, as she was more interested in seeing what decision their friend might make in regards to the Dark Brotherhood, would she betray them and destroy the group of small time assassins, or would she follow them and see where their guild ended up, while at the same time she was eager to see what else Capper might have them do, given the vastness of Skyrim.

Capper nodded as they focused on the path, Rarity and Mah Oh creating floating orbs of light to make sure they could see the path in front of them, since night was falling on Skyrim, though he knew it was about time for them to head back to the Golden City to rest up. Since they had cleared out the Steps on the way up the group was able to make their way down in a much quicker and safer fashion, thus allowing them to reach Iverstead in no time at all, though while they were still coming down the mountainside he noticed something odd. There were two individuals walking into Iverstead as well, who seemed to be wearing strange robes, dark brown colored with a bronze right shoulder and a pair of bronze gloves, both scaled like a dragon, and they wore these strange masks. He glanced at the others and found that they were surprised by the arrival of these figures, though at the same time each of them remained at the ready, because he suspected they were going to try and stop them for some reason, it just seemed like something that would happen.

Fortunately it looked like most of the citizens of the village had returned to their homes for the night, meaning they didn't have to worry about anyone getting caught in whatever was about to happen, and, sure enough, the pair stopped just on the other side of the bridge, so they had no choice but to speak with them.

"You there, khajiit! Are you the one they call 'Dragonborn'?" one of the figures asked, where they found that this figure was male while the other was female, it was easy thanks to their bodies, though at the same time it looked like the second one might be getting her weapon ready, like she was expecting them to say yes.

"Does it matter if I say 'yes' or 'no'? You're clearly here for me." Sharva replied, showing them that while she had accepted her destiny as the Dragonborn, even though it had come as a shock to her when she first learned that fact, she had also come to accept that certain people thought of her in different ways, and these ones seemed to be aggressive, hence why she was already reaching for her blades.

"Your lies fall on deaf ears, Deceiver, for the True Dragonborn comes... you are but his shadow!" the figure, a cultist based on what Capper was seeing and hearing right now, stated, though at the same time both he and his companion started to pull out their weapons, daggers, with a spell in their off hand, showing them that they were ready for a fight, "When Lord Miraak appears all shall bear witness to his glory!"

Sure enough the cultists summoned a pair of flame atronachs, which flipped around as they came into existence, though in the following moment Mah Oh froze one of them with a wave of ice while Rarity slammed a palm full of lightning right into her target's chest, shocking the cultist into submission. Of course she used that opportunity to drain her foe of her blood, before snapping the cultist's neck and allowing Capper to look into what the figure had on her, while Sharva moved on the other one, ducking under his fireballs without wasting time. She was able to dodge around the cultist's attacks before she swung one of her blades and took his hand clean off, and when he staggered backwards she struck his chest area, dropping him to one knee so she could sever her foe's head. Capper found that there was a letter, a command order from the one called 'Miraak', where the pair had been ordered to travel to Raven Rock, use a boat there to get to Windhelm, and then find the 'False Dragonborn' and murder her before Sharva traveled to Solstheim.

After reading the note, and acquiring the goods from the pair of cultists, which turned out to be a collection of herbs, one had a staff they never used, some daggers, and a new book for Rarity, Capper summoned the carriage as Rarity burned the bodies, allowing them to head around the Throat of the World to return to Falkreath.

"Mora, we were attacked by some cultists seeking to kill Sharva, under orders from a 'Miraak'. Know anything about him?" Capper asked, because he had a feeling that Mora had some knowledge for them, since she had been using Ithelia's power before he brought Ithelia back as the Prince of Fate, so he was assuming that the Prince of Knowledge had seen Miraak at one point before he came into the picture.

"Yes, Miraak is my champion... an apprentice, really... but no such order was handed to him." Mora replied, looking over the orders that they had obtained from the cultists, where it was easy for Capper to see that the other Prince was disappointed in her current apprentice, no doubt because she liked having him around and wasn't pleased with Miraak going after Sharva like this, "He is contained in my realm of Apocrypha, but he has long been interested in Solstheim... he is no doubt seeking to return to his homeland and reclaim control of his destiny, and is likely worried about Sharva coming to challenge him, or he intends for this to be a challenge to her so he can claim her soul and it's power. He is the First Dragonborn, and his power is far beyond what Sharva possesses right now."

"Great, so we have the World-Eater to worry about, an ancient clan of vampires annoyed by the Dawnguard, and now the First Dragonborn wants me dead..." Sharva commented, her tone informing them that she was definitely annoyed by this, as they knew about the first and third foes thanks to everything they had discovered, while the second was something they had guessed at after everything they had learned so far, "Being the Dragonborn sounds incredibly exhausting."

Mora offered to return to Apocrypha and deal with Miraak personally, though Capper decided to hold off on that, because it seemed like the figure had no idea what was going on outside the realm he was trapped in, and whatever access he had to this realm seemed to be limited to Solstheim. This meant that they had time to deal with Alduin, at the very least, and maybe look into the vampire threat when they had time to do so, possibly even crush them if they were lucky, before Miraak even realized that his cultists had been slain and that Sharva knew of his existence. If things worked out that way Capper knew when it came time to head to the island of Solstheim they could surprise him and deal with him before doing anything else, or he and Mora could just move into Apocrypha instead of worrying about the island. Fortunately he wasn't too worried or stressed for time, because it seemed like Alduin really wasn't doing anything right now, save for finding the graves of the dragons and raising them, but even then he seemed to be taking his sweet time, so they had time to finish up with the Dark Brotherhood before going after him and the Horn.

With that in mind they focused on the path that was ahead of them, slipped through Helgen when they reached it, and went down the main path that would bring them to Falkreath, though since there was no one in their way La'nari brought them to the edge of the city, allowing them to dismiss the carriage and use the Gate to head to the Golden City.

When morning arrived Midnight left the Opulent Lands once everyone was done with breakfast, allowing them to step out into Falkreath in the early morning, where the guards were being lazy due to being totally tired from their night shift, which allowed her to head out into the area that held the Black Door. This time around Capper let the others relax around the city, it was better than just waiting in the carriage for someone to return, while he slipped in through the door after Midnight kept it open for him, the door didn't even react to his presence. With his status as a Daedric Prince he decided to make himself invisible to those that were in the Sanctuary, allowing him to glance around the area and listen to what Midnight might have to do next, since there was no telling with Astrid right now. He did spot a Word Wall for Sharva to read from, something they would have to come back for later, though at the same time it looked like Cicero, the jester that Midnight helped out outside Whiterun, was a member of the Dark Brotherhood and was speaking to Astrid.

From what he gathered Cicero had brought the 'Night Mother' here, like he was seeking a new place to live after what had happened to him before this point, and yet most of the Sanctuary seemed to be divided on the matter, half approving of the arrival of such a figure, a corpse, while the others weren't thrilled. Astrid was hoping that this didn't change anything for her Sanctuary, that much was clear to him and Midnight, though at the same time she did have a contract for Midnight, where she was to head to Markarth and speak to the girl that was the apothecary's assistant. This meant that it was hard for the Dark Brotherhood to get contracts since it seemed like this young woman had been praying for some time now, and Astrid had only just now heard of it, though that was what happened when they were missing the 'Listener', they who heard the voice of the Night Mother. Capper glanced at Midnight when he heard that piece of information, because since he, Rarity, and Azure were high ranking members of their particular Guilds, even the leader in his case, he suspected Midnight might be the missing link for the Dark Brotherhood, and he was interested in what it might mean.

Midnight did turn in the contracts she had completed so far, earning a bit of gold for herself in the process despite Nazir, the redguard, seemed to have a few remarks for her after she turned in each one, causing Midnight to turn away after that and she left the Sanctuary, allowing Capper to slip out with her.

"Well then, we'll make this easy: head through the Gates and see what this Muiri wants." Capper commented, where he and Midnight regrouped with the others, allowing Midnight to share the plan with their friends as they used the Falkreath Gate to head back to the Golden City, before using the Markarth Gate to reach the city that was their destination.

Tracking down the young woman appeared to be a trivial matter for them, as she was out and about since the shop wasn't open right now, so this was her getting some exercise in before her place of employment was busy, though Midnight made sure to add a dark scarf and a few other things to make her more like a dark assassin. She found an area where she could speak to Muiri in private a few moments later, where she silently dropped down on the woman as she stood near the edge of an upper walkway and the group watched her from the shadows. Capper listened in on them and found that Muiri wanted an ex-lover killed, apparently this 'Alain Dufont' was the leader of some bandits, hold up in Raldbthar near Windhelm, and he had used her to get to Muiri's close friends, the Shatter-Shields, to rob them blind during their time of grief, since they had lost one of their daughters. She wanted Alain to die, plain and simple, but she was offering an additional reward if Midnight killed Nilsine as well, the other daughter, since Muiri was hoping that it would make the parents remember that Muiri had been like a daughter to them, to make her part of the family again.

in the end Midnight pulled away from the woman and returned to the group, where she nodded to Capper and they quickly used a couple of Gates to appear in Windhelm, though Capper headed towards the main entrance and found someone that fit Nilsine's description in one of the alleyways.

"I'll be quick." Midnight remarked, slipping into the shadows for a moment before finding an opening that allowed her to use her dagger to slice open the lady's neck, dropping her to the ground in an instant, and once that was done she gathered the golden soul gem and the few bits of jewelry that Nilsine had on her, she knew Capper or Tri Ki would rob the corpse, along with the gold, before they left the city before someone noticed the corpse.

Once they were outside the city Capper made sure to summon the carriage once they were far enough away and La'nari got them underway, to bring them close to where he had wiped out a rival guild not that long ago, though he did make sure to tell Midnight that he and the kobolds would be coming in after her. The reason for such a decision was because this was the location of another Aetherium Shard, the second one to be exact, so he figured she could handle everything leading up to her target, but then after that he and all of the shadowy kobolds would take over. Along the way they noticed something that interested them, there was a dark scaled dragon, not Alduin, circling the area that was near Raldbthar, where it looked like a number of bandits were trying, in vain, to bring down the beast as it fought them. Sharva simply stretched her body before they reached the area that the rival clan had been in, allowing her, Rarity, and Azure to move in, while Midnight made her way to the start of the dwarven ruin she needed to cut her way through.

Once more Capper found that the combination of the group, with their kobolds and the dying bandits, brought down their foe and it wasn't long before he transformed the soul into a brand new form as Sharva took in it's knowledge, yet this new dracthyr still contained the dark coloration she possessed while in her dragon form, like she could blend into the night or even the shadows themselves.

"Another one... you had best be careful, Akatosh might visit you if you keep this up." Ithelia commented, which was true, as the souls of dragons were connected to the God of Time, and thus to those he chose as the Dragonborn of legend, and she knew it was only a matter of time until Alduin's father came by for a visit.

"My Lord, I, Vulnilah, will serve you with all of my power. Point me at your enemies and they will die." the dark dracthyr said, showing Capper that some were used to dying and being brought back, making him wonder how often Alduin did this in the past, while at the same time he glanced at the remaining bandits that were around them, who seemed surprised by what they were seeing.

Capper nodded as he withdrew two daggers from his realm, elven ones since they were the ones they had the most of, and handed them to the new dracthyr, who took hold of them without delay and stood up, where she stretched her body for a few seconds, since this was all new to her, in fact it was like she was bouncing from one leg to the other. In the next instant, once she was done checking out her brand new body, Vulnilah rushed forward, though it was more like she vanished from the area that Capper was standing in and appeared in the shadows behind the bandits. Sure enough Capper found that she was a born hunter, striking from the shadows while accurately slaying her targets, slicing the neck of one bandit, stabbing another in the eye before going for the heart, and so on and so forth. Despite this being her first time in this body she was a lethal killing machine, wasting no time and ensuring that she ended the lives of those that were her targets, thus allowing her to land nearby before bowing her head, impressing the Collectors and the shadowy kobolds.

He, too, was also impressed by her actions and ensured that Vulnilah knew he was impressed by her skills, which made him eager to see what the rest of the dracthyr could do, before Ithelia gave the newcomer a new set of attire, shadowy armor to fit her preferred profession, before she returned to the Opulent Lands.

Following that Rarity and those that weren't interested in running through the dungeon stayed outside the main gate, which was what they did the last time this happened, while Midnight headed inside as Capper's group followed a few seconds later, to give her time to work her magic. It appeared that the only bandit near the main entrance was asleep, thus allowing him to be slain before he even realized what was going on, before he found that Midnight headed down the path to the left, which would eventually bring her to the main chamber that was on the other side of the gate she ignored. This granted her access to a couple of other bandits, where she distracted them with a few pebbles, somehow ensuring that they came at her one at a time and granting her the ability to kill them one at a time, and once they were done she made her way into the area that Alain was standing in. Getting to him proved to be far too easy, as he seemed drunk at the moment and his pair of guards were too focused on the campfire they had set up, so Midnight slit their throats and caught their bodies before they hit the ground, and once they were dead she took Alain's head.

Following that Midnight pulled back, allowing Capper, Vulnilah, and the kobolds to move deeper into the ruin, since her task had been fulfilled, though Capper did claim the unique looking warhammer that had been the prize of the Shatter-Shields, before Alain had stolen it, which he was going to add to his collection. The door behind Alain proved to be the way forward, where he focused on the chests they walked by while Vulnilah led the kobolds to wage war on the constructs that were in the way, while the Collectors salvages what they could. It wasn't long before they found a lift heading down into the earth, to an area populated by the falmer, which was when she and the shadowy kobolds shined the most, slipping into the shadows as Capper watched as they slaughtered both the falmer and the chaurus, leaving the goods for the Collectors. Capper did what he did best, finding areas that required him to press a single button or pull a single lever to lower additional portions of the path so they could progress deeper into the ruin, thus allowing the others to continue on their way.

Eventually they found their way into what appeared to be the final chamber, where they heard gears being interrupted, so while the others killed all of the enemies that were here, and the Collectors recovered more golden soul gems, Capper found bones and skulls in some of the gears. He removed them without wasting time, allowing the gears to become less noisy in the process, and a kobold even found one in the water after seeing him do this just once, and once they were sure that the gears were clear, plus all of the falmer were dead and the loot was obtained, he pressed a button. This lowered a bridge and revealed a door guarded by one of the centurions, where Vulnilah slipped into the shadows and attacked the figure's legs, it's arms, and then slashed through it's chest, allowing her to drop it in a matter of seconds. With the way clear they headed into the final portion of Raldbthar, where Capper found what appeared to be a lock in the center of a room, a lift to the left, and a side passage to the right, with a few spider bots that they wiped out in seconds.

At the end of the side path Capper smiled as he noticed the Aetherium Shard that he was interested in, where he picked it up and studied it, confirming that it was the exact same as the one he collected from Mzulft's storeroom previously, and with the second in his Vault they cleared out all of the loot before using the lift to return to the surface, allowing them to climb down the side of the mountain and return to the others.

"The second shard was definitely here, so I'm issuing a change of plans: we'll tell Muiri the good news and then go after the other two shards, both of which are near Markarth." Capper said, where he found that none of the others were surprised by such a thing, he was always changing their plans when something caught his interest, and now that he had two of the four Aetherium Shards he was interested in tracking down the other two, "After we get them, well, we'll go after the Forge and see if we can find that. Once we're done with that we can give Astrid the good news and then focus on the rest of the Dark Brotherhood's contracts, since they'll have more for you after this, I'm sure of that... once we're done with that we can head to Ustengrav to get the Horn."

"And after that we focus on Alduin, then the vampires, and then Miraak?" Rarity asked, as she knew Capper well enough to know how he liked to tackle things, especially after becoming a Daedric Prince, and, sure enough, he nodded his head for a second, confirming her thoughts on the matter, to which everyone got up as he summoned the carriage down near where the rival clan had been positioned previously.

Capper was pleased to see that none of the others remotely cared about the plan he had set forward, it was reasonable to them, though with a second shard in hand he was more eager to see if they could find the other two and what might happen when they found the Aetherium Forge, causing him to smile as he looked forward to what the future held in store for him and his companions.