I had to admit I sort of forgot this was a living breathing world and not some static game that had cemented quest path lines.
'Of course the various factions would pay attention to me with the way i've been showing off.' I thought with a mental sigh.
There was no way I could just stop being a prodigy as that would only be even MORE suspicious. I couldn't even slow down as I frankly had way too much I needed to learn and a VERY specific amount of time to do so. I was given twenty years before the dragons returned and seven of them were already gone.-
I was making excellent progress if I did say so myself but there was still a great deal I needed done. My only saving grace was that the great war was still going on and the Thalmor hadn't been able to infest Skyrim yet. If they had you can believe I would not have seemed very prodigious at all. Those lunatics would hear about a prodigy growing up and I'd find this life very short indeed.-
"I'm flattered but not interested in zealotry or void worship." I said playing off my discomfort.
"Heh, i'm sure they'll be heartbroken to hear it. Follow closely and try not to stare." Vex said with a small chuckle as she lead the way towards the graveyard entrance of the guild.
The graveyard of Riften in reality was NOTHING like that small plot of pathetic land you see in the game. There were rows upon rows of graves, some so old the stones were barely even there anymore. There were also at least thirty or forty small stone mausoleums where the richer of folks were burried, long since picked clean by thieves of course. -
One such mausoleum set in far back edge of the graveyard next to two others was the entrance to the thieves guild only members were supposed to know about. This particular mausoleum was slightly dulled by the elements and had cracks in it's stone but the thick stone door had signs of moving recently if you looked close. Vex pushed the door open to reveal.... nothing out of the expected. For all intents and purposes it looked like a normal grave with a person sized stone sarcophagus in the center with a carved lid looking like someone sleeping with a lockpick in one hand and a coin purse in the other.-
Vex walked to the side of the sarcophagus and pressed the center of what I immediately identified as a guild shadowmark, the one that represented the guild specifically. It was a diamond shape with a single circle in the center making it look like a sharp eye almost. That circle was the button in this case and once pressed I heard a light grinding of stone on stone as the whole sarcophagus slid to the side to reveal a tunnel leading below the ground.-
I had to marvel at how much more impressive this was than the games set up and followed Vex into the tunnel as the sarcophagus slid back into place clearly on a timer for how long it stays open. The tunnel was carved into the dirt with wooden supports periodically along it's sides and ceiling. Each of them I noticed was also rigged to be ripped out in a hurry no doubt collapsing the tunnel. It was a smart thing to do as for obvious reasons most people weren't fans of the thieves guild. Should a thief get chased into this tunnel it could be collapsed to escape cleanly.-
We walked for about ten minutes before reaching a thick gray stone wall with an equally thick metal door with a single keyhole in the center and four guild shadowmarks placed like a square around the key hole. Vex took out a key and set it into the hole before pressing each of the marks like buttons and only once all were pressed turned the key. There was a loud hiss and mechanical movement from within the door before it swung open. -
"Welcome to the Thieves guild." Vex said with a smirk as I couldn't help but gawk at what I saw.
This wasn't the pathetic cistern from the game, this place had tall sturdy stone walls and floors. It had a canal all it's own flowing around the center stone area with three stone bridges to it. There were dozens of halls leading to different rooms, thieves of all races moving about the place. Some were practicing at the bonafide archery target range, some were looking over a massive wooden board on the wall at what looked to be jobs. There were alchemy stations, enchanter boards, fences haggling with thieves over their ill earned spoils. It was a whole community just going about it's business beneath Riften.-
"Oi Vex!" A gruff male voice called out from nearby and I looked at the source curiously.
It was a Breton man pushing middle aged with frown lines at the corners of his mouth and an angular blocky face with shaved scalp and chin though some shadow of regrowing hair was there.
"What in oblivion are you doing bringing HIM here!? Have you lost your mind?" the man demanded seriously as he jabbed a thick finger at me.
"He found me on his own, has a business proposal for the guild. Taking him to Gallus." she said firmly.
"Then you should have brought him to the front. Nobody outside the guild is supposed to know about the back way." The man said sternly.
"Too late for that Del and I don't even mean me bringing him here either. Brat stalked a few of our own who weren't very careful and already knew about it. Saw no point in playing it off after learning that." she said with a shrug.
"Bloody fools! You! Best behavior or you'll spend the rest of your days here." the man I now identified as a younger Delvin Mallory said fiercely as he glared at me to get his point across.
"I'm here for business. Not much sense starting trouble is there?" I said not bothered.
He continued to glare at me for a few moments before sighing in annoyance "Brave bugger, or proud. Can't tell which yet." he said before letting us pass.
We drew a great many interested gazed as we crossed the span of the cistern to the great elegantly carved wooden desk adorned with jewels and artifacts of various kinds and covered with plans, ledgers and coin. -
"So you've come at last. I was wondering how long it would take before your curiosity got the better of you and led you here." A tall pale skinned imperial man with smooth handsome features, short brown hair and piercing hawkish brown eyes said from behind the desk.
"A correction. Not curiosity, money. I am here to exploit your organization." I said honestly leaving both the man whom I assumed to be Gallus, the Dunmer woman next to him I pinged as most likely Karliah and Vex dumbstruck.
{Author note: Hey did you know theres like thirty chapters on my pat?}