Songs of the Crooked

6: Welcome to the Thieves Guild

Eliza followed Brynjolf into what he had called the Cistern. She was nervous after finding out that she was going to have to meet with the Guild master. She had originally thought Brynjolf was, but evidently, he was not. 

She stood at the bottom of one of the archways that lead to a circle in the middle of the room, while Brynjolf walked over to who she assumed was the Guild master. She allowed her eyes to glance across the room and take a look at the people that was there. 

There was mostly men there, except for a dark haired Nord woman who she had actually saw before, back when she first entered the city. She remembered seeing that she was in the middle of an argument with a Redguard, who looked distressed.  Seeing her now down here, she figured that it was some sort of guild business. 

Brynjolf walked towards the circle and motioned for Eliza to do the same. As she got closer and closer to Brynjolf and Mercer, she couldn't help, but to feel intimidated by the latter. He had his arms crossed over his dark leather armor, with an annoyed look on his face. Him being a Breton, he was shorter than her, but there was something about him that made her feel so little compared to him.

"This better not be another waste of the guild's resources, Brynjolf." She overheard Mercer say to Brynjolf as she was approaching. 

"It's not." Brynjolf replied with a confident smirk. "She's different. She's a natural." 

Eliza stopped in front of the two and straightened her back. First impressions are everything.

"Alright, before we begin, I want to make one thing perfectly clear." Mercer said. "If play by our rules, you walk away rich. You break the rules, you lose your share. No debates, no discussions. You do what we say, when we say. Do I make myself clear?"

Eliza gulped. "Yes, I understand."

"Good. Then I think its time to put your expertise to the test." 

Brynjolf turned and looked at him stunned. "Wait a moment. You're not talking about Goldenglow, are you? Even our little Vex couldn't get in!"

Mercer turned to face him and raised an eyebrow. "You say that she is a natural. If so, then let her prove it." 

Brynjolf ran a hand over his face, obviously upset about this. Eliza tried not to look worried, but she could tell that she was failing miserably. 

Mercer looked annoyed by both of them. "Brynjolf can tell you the details of it." Then he turned to walk away, but Brynjolf stopped him. 

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Huh?" Mercer then turned and looked at Eliza. "Oh...yeah. Since Brynjolf assures me that you'll be nothing, but a benefit to us, then you're in. Welcome to the Thieves Guild." 

Once Mercer walked away and was at a good enough distance, Eliza grabbed Brynjolf by the shoulder and made him lean closer to her. "What exactly is Goldenglow and why did you act worried when he told me to go there?"

"Goldenglow is a bee farm just outside of here. It's important to one of our loyal clients, but the owner of it has suddenly shut us out. She wanted us to go over there and teach him a lesson." Brynjolf replied.

"Okay," Eliza huffed. "But you avoided my question. Why were you worried?"

He sighed and through a glance over his shoulder towards Mercer. "Goldenglow is surrounded by mercenaries that are ruthless killers."

Eliza's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"

"You either have to kill them or try to sneak past them, but the latter is going to be very hard to do."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you're going to have to burn down three of the bee hives."

Eliza buried her head in her head. What in Oblivion did she get herself into? 

She felt Brynjolf put a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him. 

"Lass," Brynjolf started to say, "I know it sounds hard, but we have a lot riding on this. You can't disappoint." 

"Disappointing the guild is the least of my worries." Eliza said in a harsh tone. "I could die!" 

Brynjolf rubbed a hand on his chin and after a minute passed, his face brightened up. "Then we're going to send you with a trained thief!"

Eliza raised her eyebrows. "What?"

"It's simple, lass. We send you with someone with you to do the job. That way, you can have a witness of your skills, and extra protection." 

Eliza nodded her head, she did like the thought of not having to do this alone. "Okay, who am I going with?"

Brynjolf gave her a wicked smile. "Oh, you'll see."

~

Sorry for the short chapter. Writer's block is trying to get to me, but I'm trying to work through it. 

In more exciting news, Eliza's love interest is going to be in the next chapter! YAY! Any guesses of who it is? 

Also, I want to give a shoutout to my friend, 
She had been very supportive and helpful throughout this entire story. So thank you for all of the encouragement you've given me!