#aringoth

“Here’s what you need to know,” Vex piped up from where she stood. Adi turned to her, listening intently. “That wood elf is a lot smarter than I expected. That fetcher has more than tripled the guard. There must have been eight of them in there. It was as if he was daring us to come and get him.”

“Any tips?”

“There’s an old sewer tunnel that dumps into the lake on the northwest side of the island,” Vex explained. “That’s how I slipped in there. Should be about the only area that’s unguarded.”

“Thank you,” Adi said. “Bryn, is there anything else I need to know?”

“You can’t burn the place to the ground,” he nodded. “And the important client attached to this job prefers Aringoth remains alive. However, if he tries to stop you from getting the job done, kill him. Oh, and Goldenglow is guarded by mercenaries.”

“Got it,” Adi downed the rest of her mead. “I’ll be back tonight.” 

“You better be, lass.” Brynjolf tried to hide his concern, but Adi saw right through him. The thief had a good poker face, but his eyes gave away how he was really feeling. 

“Bryn, seriously.” Adi looked at him. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

“Hard not to,” Brynjolf chuckled. Adi reached over and squeezed his hand. 

“If you’re that worried, walk me to the gates?”

“Sure.” Bryn and Adi got up to leave. Before they reached the false panel, Vex stopped them in their tracks. 

“You could even make a whole date out of it,” Vex smirked. 

“Don’t forget to stop at the Temple of Mara on your way out,” Delvin added. 

“By the Nine, both of you.” 

“I have dirt on you two, be careful.” Brynjolf reminded them before disappearing into the Cistern with Adi. Vex and Delvin’s laughter could be faintly heard through the close panel. Both parties were grateful the path to the Cistern was darker, Adi and Brynjolf both feeling blood rushing to their faces.

He led Adi to the back gates of Riften, where the cobblestone road would take her to the front gates of Goldenglow. “It’ll be locked and a mercenary will be there on the lookout. If you can’t get through the gate without being detected, go through the sewers as Vex said.” 

“See you tonight, Bryn.”

“See you soon, lass.”

As soon as Adi stepped foot outside of Riften, she spotted a blood dragon in the distance. As it roared, it lit everything in its path on fire. She ran towards the Estate, stopping at the gate just in time. Now to get passed the Mercenary… “You’re not supposed to be here.”

“There's… a… blood dragon…” Adi tried to catch her breath as she pointed to the sky. “If you let me through… I can help fight it.” 

“Why should I let you?”

“I’m the Dragonborn.”

“I doubt that,” the mercenary started laughing so hard he could barely keep his balance. Rolling her eyes, the thief looked at the gates in front of her and sucked in a breath. She hated having to prove herself, but this seemed to be the only way and she had to be quick. 

FUS RO DAH

Adi directed the shout towards the gates, forcing them open. Glancing up at the mercenary, he was staring at her in utter shock and disbelief. He tried to speak, but it came out in splutters rather than coherent words. Seeing that as an invitation, Adi made her way onto the grounds. 

The blood dragon landed in front of the beehives right as Adi ran through, and blew a breath of fire on every single hive. Adi ran forward, shooting Ebony arrows in the weak parts of the hide. Mercenaries around her were stunned when she was spotted, not sure whether they should attack the trespasser or the creature. The Dragonborn barely paid them any mind, focused on the roars of pain as each arrow sunk in.

“What are you doing? Attack it!” Adi yelled at the Mercenaries. Shaken out of their surprise, they all moved to attack the dragon. Their actions kept the beast busy, allowing Adi to attack from a distance while remaining undetected. 

Swords clashed against scales, and some arrows ricocheted off the dragon as Mercenaries attacked. Many dropped quickly from being swatted aside, others managed to keep up by dodging the dragons’ attacks. Adi focused on her own plan, conjuring an ice storm to confuse her opponent as a wall of white flurries surrounded it. 

It was loud, to say the least, as the dragon roared in pain and anger. Fire met the ice storm, and Adi’s Magicka depleted quickly as she fought the element to keep the storm strong. She barely noticed as more mercenaries fell and stained the grass red, as the dragon thrashed around. Adi wasn’t fond of watching dragons in agony as she killed them, but it was a necessary evil to being the Dragonborn.

The ice storm faded as Adi’s Magika ran out, allowing the injured dragon to have a small break. She walked forward as the dragon tried to crawl away, mouth wide open as it screeched. Carefully, she shot a poison-dipped arrow in its mouth and watched as the dragon slumped over and its hide burst into flames. A familiar orange glow emanated from the defeated foe and moved towards Adi. It filled her with the ever-familiar and uncomfortably warm feeling as she absorbed its soul. Once it had faded, she turned to head to the Estate. Facing her was a mercenary, staring at her in awe. 

“You… you’re the Dragonborn!”

“That I am,” she nodded. “And I’m here to see Aringoth. I have a message for him if that’s alright.”

“I’m not supposed to allow this, but…”

“It’s important.”

“Oh, alright.” 

He led her into the manor, and up a set of stairs. Getting passed the other mercenaries was easy, Adi stressing that the message for their boss was life or death. They let her pass with little hesitation, Adi being led to Aringoth’s room in no time. She could hear him rustling around beyond the locked door, clearly panicked. “Boss, there’s someone here to see you. She says she has a message.”

“I guess I don’t have a choice,” an irritated voice sounded from the other side of the door, and not a second later, it swung open. A wood elf faced Adi, and he gestured into the room. She followed him in, keeping a hand close to her dagger. She had a plan that didn’t involve violence, but she had to be cautious. Once the mercenary left, he spoke to her. “Worthless mercenaries. I didn’t think Maven or Mercer would allow me to get away with this, but I had little choice.” 

“I just want the key to your safe.”

“I can’t. If I do, I may as well cut my own throat.” 

Gol Hah Dov 

Aringoth’s eyes glassed over, and his body relaxed. While in the trance, Adi gave him a command. “Give me the key to your safe.” 

He reached into his pocket and handed her a small silver key. Once collected, she gave him another command to lead her to where the safe was located. Adi didn’t use the Bend Will Shout often so she wasn’t sure how much time she had but if the assassin had to guess, it would be effective for at least five minutes. Hopefully, that was enough time to get into the safe and out of the Estate. 

Aringoth began to move, almost robotically. She followed him to the basement, making sure Aringoth assured each mercenary that it was just regular business. Once the safe was in sight, Adi turned to Aringoth and gave him one final command. “Go back upstairs, and forget this ever happened. I wasn’t here.

Aringoth turned around, and Adi opened the safe quickly. After grabbing the septims and a letter, she opened the trapdoor into the sewers and made her way back out. 

Once out of sight and on the walk back to the city, Adi unfolded the parchment and read it, unable to contain her curiosity.  

Aringoth,

This document acknowledges the sale of Goldenglow Estate and all property, assets and materials contained within. Payment of the property has been made in full by Gulum-Ei as an agent on behalf of the buyer. All dealings with the Thieves Guild in Riften is to cease immediately. To deter any possible retribution for this act, you are to take immediate steps to protect our assets in any way you see fit. I think you'll find that the Thieves Guild is far more bark than bite and will likely avoid Goldenglow Estate rather than thin their already dwindling numbers.