As it turned out nothing interesting happened when Amaryllis returned to the Sanctuary, other than her telling Veezara that she had acquired the blade fragments she had been looking for, so all she could do was relax and chat with the rest of her Family, as Nazir was still out gathering information of the latest contracts that he heard whispers about, and, according to what Astrid said, he was supposed to be back in the morning, which would be the time that everyone should have some more work to do, once more at their leisure. She still felt that there could be a better way for them to know when someone had done the Black Sacrament, like they write down what they want done and leave a note in a specific location that the guards don't know about, so one of them could collect the notices and return them to Nazir, who would take over things from there, before handing out the work. From what she could tell no one seemed to dislike how things were being ran and, in the end, she decided not to bother pitching her idea, since Astrid was the one in charge and it seemed unwise to question her authority, even when it came to suggesting things, so what she did was hang out with Veezara and, at times, Cicero, to get to know them a little better as the rest of the evening wore on. It was during the transition into nighttime that she discovered that there was a small hole in one of the ceilings, one that allowed them to peer outside and get an accurate reading of what time it was outside, which was actually a good use for such a hole, especially since no one had noticed where the hole was from the road.
Amaryllis was amazed by what the Dark Brotherhood was able to do, by hiding themselves under a road that no one seemed to bother with, especially with the black pool that happened to be outside, and suspected that this was why it had gone unnoticed for such a long time, as it seemed whoever came down this way simply wanted to move on and not stop for anything, except for that Argonain she had seen earlier. That lady was the only person she had seen, in the whole of Skyrim, that was carrying a scythe on her back, a weapon that didn't seem to really match what everyone else was using, but, at the same time, she proved that such a deadly and dangerous weapon was useful, especially with her skills since she had taken out three Thalmor agents without breaking a sweat. She was also the only person that had stayed in this area for more than a few moments, something that interested her a little, but for the moment her focus was on learning more about her Family members, how they operated, and the various contracts and potential rules that she might have to abide by, conditions that, if she did them correctly, would learn her a bonus when she completed the major contracts. All of this came from Gabriella and Festus, since they were more than willing to tell her more about how they operated and what she needed to focus on, but the main thing everyone seemed to agree on was that each of them had their own style when it came to completing their contracts and that she needed to find her own, even though all of her Family members knew that she already had a good start on figuring her style out.
Eventually all of them turned in for the night, with Astrid and Arnbjorn taking turns keeping watch for Nazir's return so they could figure out who was doing what in the near future, and while Amaryllis really didn't need to rest, after all the hours she spent sleeping that day already, she went to sleep as well so that when morning arrived she could be ready for it and whatever the day could throw at her.
When morning arrived once more Amaryllis found another reason to be happy, as Nazir had finally made it back to the Sanctuary and he admitted that he had some work for everyone, more than he initially thought he would find when he went out to collect more contracts, so it appeared that there might be two rounds of contracts for everyone to tackle, a statement that caused the rest of the Family to cheer. Amaryllis, on the other hand, did follow their lead a little, as she was curious as to what targets she would be given this time around, hopefully nothing as bad as mercy killing a beggar, but only time would tell what sort of contracts Nazir had in mind for her, given that he was the one that determined who got what contract, even though he likely worked with Astrid to get good results. One of the other things she noticed was that Cicero, the Keeper of the Night Mother, didn't actually get any work at all, due to his role as the Keeper, meaning that he had to stick close to her coffin and protect her, but that didn't stop him from interacting with the rest of the Family and hearing about all the contracts that they went on, no doubt so he could imagine doing something like that himself, or to remember the days before he became the Keeper. She had the feeling that Cicero was bored, being forced to tend to the Night Mother and nothing else, but she was more than happy to spend some time with him and make sure he wasn't regretting his decision to bring the Unholy Matron to this Sanctuary, even if the others deemed him a little mad, something she could get passed thanks to her time in Ponyville.
Amaryllis and the others spent a good portion of the morning relaxing, working on the various professions that they used when they were out in the field, or even reading, while Nazir worked on determining who got what contract before handing them out, before she noticed Astrid standing near the doorway that lead to the main chamber, who moved her head when she was the only one looking at her, to which Amaryllis got up from where she was sitting and had Meeko stay with the others, before following Astrid all the way to the room that the leader of this Sanctuary slept in.
"Astrid, is something wrong?" Amaryllis asked, as she noticed that the lady that had recruited her into her new Family did seem to be worried about something at the moment, even if none of the other Family members had been around to see this, to which she closed the door behind her and hoped that there was no one around when they talked about whatever was bothering Astrid.
"Yes... it's Cicero." Astrid replied, because while Amaryllis knew that Astrid didn't hit it off with the jester, no like some of the other members of the Family did during the last couple of days, she honestly didn't feel that she was in any position to feel that the man was a threat to her and her rule, not when the only thing that could actually do such a thing was the Listener, the only person that could hear the Night Mother, "Ever since he arrived at this Sanctuary, and we had our first meeting, his behavior's been... well, let's just say erratic would be an understatement, as I strongly believe the fool is truly mad. But it's worse than that, as he's locked himself in the Night Mother's chamber several times since he moved her into that room, where I've heard him talking to someone, in hushed, but frantic tones. What I want to know is who Cicero is speaking with, and what could they be planning, though I fear treachery is at the heart of this matter."
"Well, he did just finish a journey that involved carting the Night Mother and her coffin to Skyrim, all the way from the crypt in Bravil, alone I might add," Amaryllis said, as she felt that Cicero was trying to unwind from the long journey and the way he was doing it in seemed to be strange to Astrid, who didn't seem to think very much about what she had said, which wasn't the first time someone decided what she said was worthless, "though if you want my opinion on the matter, you might be acting a little paranoid over all of this."
"Maybe so, but a healthy dose of paranoia has saved this Sanctuary before," Astrid stated, showing that, while she was fine with Amaryllis telling her exactly what she was thinking at the moment, without her getting annoyed by such a thing in the first place, she expected the changeling to assist her in figuring out what was going on right now and if there was a traitor among their Family members, "and my gut's telling me that the demented little fool is up to something."
"Very well." Amaryllis replied, to which she let out a soft sigh, as she couldn't believe that this was even happening at all, especially when she had a good idea why Cicero might be acting a little weird, but she had been wrong before and she knew that she could be wrong about this as well, even though she felt that Astrid was just overreacting to Cicero and the arrival of the Night Mother, "What is it that you want me to do about this?"
"Dear sister, I need you to steal into that chamber, and eavesdrop on their meeting." Astrid said, showing Amaryllis that she must have been thinking about this since the moment she first heard Cicero talking in that room, which hadn't been for all that long since he had only moved in not that long ago, though she did glance at the fireplace for a moment, like she was thinking about something else at the same time, "Even with your skills and abilities, it will be no use clinging to the shadows, as Cicero and his accomplice will see you for sure. No, what you need is a hiding place, somewhere they would never think to look... like inside the Night Mother's coffin."
"The... coffin?!" Amaryllis said, as just the thought of opening that ancient coffin and slipping inside, where the ancient and preserved corpse of the Night Mother rested, grossed her out a little, and there was another reason why she felt that this was a bad idea, something she decided to voice, "I'm pretty sure that's disrespectful to the Night Mother, possibly to Sithis as well, and will set Cicero off if he opens the coffin during his next meeting."
"Be that as it may, we have no other choice." Astrid replied, where her tone told Amaryllis that she was expecting her to go along with her ideas and not question her decision, even though this time she did detect a level of annoyance in her voice, meaning the more she refused Astrid the more angry with her she would become, to which she just admitted defeat and waited for her to finish her statement before she did anything else, "You need to remain unseen! Now go, before they meet. And report back to me with whatever you learn."
Amaryllis departed from the room and acted like nothing was amiss, where she found that the rest of her Family were where she had left them and it appeared that no one had moved to the room the Night Mother resided in, but in the end she sighed and walked over to that room, as she decided that she might as well get this over with so she could see if Astrid really was going crazy over Cicero arriving. The metallic door near the stairs that lead to the first small room, which was where Astrid's room was located, was locked at the moment, no doubt in preparation for the meeting that was supposed to be happening in the near future, to which she headed over to the other one and found that it was unlocked, allowing her to slip inside the room. She was surprised that she was coming face to face with the coffin a second time, especially since she had come to see what it looked like after Cicero had placed it where it was supposed to go, before she steeled herself and walked up to it, where she rested her hands in the opening between the two sections that formed the lid and pulled them apart. That also surprised her, as she would have thought that Cicero kept the coffin locked, to keep the body of the Night Mother preserved and whatnot, though it was possible that he was going to tend to her after the meeting and was preparing the coffin ahead of time, but she stopped as she stared at the well preserved corpse of the Night Mother, a shriveled thing that was bound by rope, and hoped that the Unholy Matron, at the very least, wouldn't strike her down for what she was about to do.
In that moment she heard Cicero humming, where she had to determine that the jester was close to this room and would be entering it in a few moments, to which she turned around as she climbed into the coffin, where she closed the lid and sealed herself off from the world for a time, though she hoped that the jester completed whatever meeting he was going to have rather quickly and then departed so she didn't have to stay in the coffin for too much time.
"Are we alone?" Cicero asked, showing that he was already speaking to someone, even though Amaryllis hadn't seen or felt anyone else when she entered the room the coffin was in, so either one of the other Family members had walked into the room with him or he had entered the room alone, where the latter meant that he could be talking to the Night Mother for some odd reason, "Yes... yes... we are alone. Sweet solitude. No one will hear us, disturb us. Everything is going according to plan. The others, I've spoken to them a little, and they're coming around, I know it. The wizard, Festus Krex... perhaps even the Argonian, and the un-child."
Amaryllis knew that Cicero had been talking to the others, she was even someone that he had talked to, though not in the matter that he did to the others, and she didn't recall anything about those conversations that would make her worry about one of the others turning on Astrid and the Sanctuary, so she was sure Astrid was being paranoid and that there was no reason for them to be worried about the Family turning against each other.
"What about you? Have you... have you spoken to anyone? No.... No, of course not. I do the talking, the stalking, the seeing and saying! And what do you do? Nothing!" Cicero stated, where his tone revealed that he seemed to be annoyed about something, where Amaryllis, once more, felt that the journey to this Sanctuary had taken it's toll on him and that he was trying to relax, now that he had reached his destination, before he let out a sigh to show that he was calming down and his anger had faded, "Not... not that I'm angry! No, never! Cicero understands. Heh. Cicero always understands! And obeys! You will talk when you're ready, won't you? Won't you... sweet Night Mother."
Poor Cicero. Dear Cicero. Such a humble servant. a voice said, where Amaryllis turned her head a little, a slight bit of movement that wouldn't cause anything inside the coffin to move, as she was wondering who was speaking to her this time around, as this reminded her of when she touched that stone and a voice spoke to her, even though she was positive that this was a different voice speaking, But he will never hear my voice... for he is not the Listener.
"Oh, but how can I defend you?" Cicero inquired, showing that he was definitely frustrated over something and that he didn't mind venting to the coffin that the Night Mother resided in, which was likely something that had allowed him to stay somewhat sane during the journey to Skyrim, even if that told everyone else that he might be a little crazy in the head and made them wonder if he was plotting against them, "How can I exert your will? If you will not speak? To anyone!"
Oh, but I will speak. I will speak to you. For you are the one. the mysterious raspy voice said, though this time around Amaryllis glanced at the corpse that was behind her, as she was sure that the seemingly ancient voice was coming from it, meaning that someone knew she was in the coffin, and that someone was the Night Mother, which told her more than she was expecting to discover, Yes, you. You, who shares my iron tomb, who warms my ancient bones. I give you this task... journey to Volunruud. Speak with Amaund Motierre.
"Poor Cicero has failed you." Cicero stated, though this time his tone told Amaryllis that he was depressed by what he was feeling, which made her feel sorry for the man, because it appeared that he was searching for something, or someone as she recalled what he had told her before this point in time, and he was afraid that he was never going to fulfill whatever promise he had made to the Night Mother, "Poor Cicero is sorry, sweet mother. I've tried, tried so very hard. But I just can't find the Listener."
Tell Cicero the time has come. the Night Mother said, where this confirmed Amaryllis' thoughts on the matter, as three times was more than enough for her to realize what was going on, that Cicero had come here to find the one person that could hear the voice of the Night Mother and, as it just so happened, she was the person that he was looking for, even if he didn't know that piece of information yet, Tell him the words he has been waiting for, all these years: "Darkness rises when silence dies".
In that moment, as the voice of the Night Mother disappeared, a line of light appeared in front of Amaryllis' eye, where she watched as the lid of the coffin opened and revealed Cicero on the other side, just like she told Astrid might happen once the 'meeting' was over, and a look of pure fury appeared on the jester's face as he realized that there was someone else inside the coffin, confirming her suspicions that this wasn't a good thing.
"What? What treachery is this!" Cicero declared, where his voice raised to the point where it seemed like he might be close to shouting, which would inform the rest of the Family that something had happened in this room, but Amaryllis suspected that no one would come running, except maybe Astrid, "Defiler! Debaser and defiler! You have violated the sanctity of the Night Mother's coffin! Explain yourself! Speak, worm!"
"Cicero, this isn't what it seems to be. I can explain." Amaryllis said, speaking fast to make sure the jester didn't pull out his dagger on her and cut her open before she could tell him what was going on, even though she wasn't going to tell him about the fact that Astrid had asked her to spy on him, despite the fact that what she had just learned confirmed what she had thought earlier, that Astrid was the one that was being paranoid about things, "The Night Mother spoke to me! She said 'I am the one'."
"She... spoke to you?" Cicero replied, where a flash of hope appeared on his face for a moment, showing that he had to be thinking about the person that he had come looking for, before that was replaced by the look of fury once more, almost as if the truth of the matter caused him to be even angrier with her, "More treachery! More trickery and deceit! You lie! The Night Mother speaks only to the Listener! And there is... No... LISTENER!"
"Wait! She told me to tell you something as well," Amaryllis stated, as she was surprised by how quickly Cicero went from happy, to angry, and back in a matter of seconds, but she figured that it had something to do with his position as Keeper and the long journey he had been on, before noticing that he had paused for a moment, allowing her to tell him whatever she had to say, as if he was waiting for something, "She said to tell you, 'Darkness rises when silence dies'."
"She... she said that? She said those words... to you? 'Darkness rises when silence dies'?" Cicero asked, though this time his tone seemed to change back to being hopeful again, to which Amaryllis nodded her head, to confirm that those were the words she had been told, before a look of shock appeared on the jester's face, which was accompanied by a small smile appearing not a few seconds later, "But those are the words. The Binding Words. Written in the Keeping Tomes. The signal so I would know. Mother's only way of talking to sweet Cicero. Then... then it is true! She is back! Our Lady is back! She has chosen a Listener! She has chosen you! Ha ha ha! All hail the Listener!"
As soon as he said that, and seemed to realize that there was a Listener at long last, a full smile appeared on his face as he started to dance in front of her, showing that he was incredibly happy about what was going on, meaning that he might actually forgive her for invading the Night Mother's coffin, since she was the only person that could hear the voice of the Unholy Patron, at least for now.
"By Sithis, this ends now!" a voice said, to which Astrid, with her unique dagger drawn, burst into the room by using the door that had been locked earlier, where she glanced around the room as she looked for the traitor that didn't even exist, especially since she misunderstood what Cicero was talking about during the short periods of time he came into this room to talk with the Night Mother, before she glanced at the jester and the room, "Back away, you demented fool! Whatever you've been planning is over! Amaryllis, are you all right? I heard the commotion. Who was Cicero talking to? Where's the accomplice? Reveal yourself, traitor!"
"I spoke only to the Night Mother!" Cicero stated, though this time his happiness wasn't ruined by what Astrid had said, not to mention that her sudden arrival in the room did nothing to slow him down, showing that he was incredibly happy about what was going on, even though he reached the end of his dance and turned to face the Leader of this Sanctuary, all while Amaryllis removed herself from the coffin, "I spoke to the Night Mother, but she didn't speak to me. Oh no. She spoke only to her! To the Listener!"
"What? The Listener?" Astrid inquired, as she knew the tales about the legendary figure that was able to hear the voice of the Night Mother, but, even as she thought about that, she didn't like what she was hearing and focused on the jester for now, while Amaryllis walked over to where she was standing, as she knew that they would have a short conversation on all she had learned, before they determined what to do next, "What are you going on about? What is this lunacy?"
"It's true, it's true! The Night Mother has spoken!" Cicero cheered, once more showing that he was pleased with what he was able to do, by finding the Listener, and he wasn't afraid to show Astrid and Amaryllis just how happy he was by this turn of events, and it almost looked like he was in the mood to dance once more, even though he kept himself still and focused on the pair that was near him, "The silence has been broken! The Listener has been chosen!"
"When I heard Cicero start screaming, I knew he had discovered where you were hiding, and, to be perfectly honest, I had feared the worst might happen." Astrid explained, though she didn't even admit to the fact that hiding inside the coffin of the Night Mother had been an incredibly bad idea, especially since Cicero was the Keeper and would have noticed if there anything that was out of the ordinary, if he didn't open it to check on the Night Mother, before she focused on Amaryllis once more, "Are you all right?"
"Yes... I'm fine." Amaryllis replied, because while part of her was still wrapping her head around what had happened over the last couple of minutes, with what Cicero had done and the ancient voice that she had heard, she was physically fine and there were no cuts in her armor, showing that the jester had stopped to listen to what she had to say, instead of going crazy on her for breaking into the coffin.
"Then what in Sithis' name is going on?" Astrid asked, because while she knew what the jester had said, even though she was ignoring the man that was now humming as he tended to the Night Mother, showing just how happy he was by this turn of events, she was still trying to figure everything out, "Cicero said that he spoke to the Night Mother, but he also said that she spoke to you? Is this just more of the fool's rambling?"
"No, it's the truth. The Night Mother spoke to me." Amaryllis answered, though she still found it odd that she, out of all the people in this Sanctuary, had been chosen to become the Listener, especially because of the fact that she was from an entirely different world and was still getting used to being a member of the Dark Brotherhood, before she focused on the exact words that she had been told, "She said that I was 'the one'."
"Okay... so Cicero wasn't conspiring with one of our Family members, to bring ruin to our Sanctuary, rather he was just talking to the body of the Night Mother?" Astrid said, repeating the information that she had just learned, though at the same time Amaryllis nodded her head a few times to confirm that her thoughts were correct, but she could tell that all of this was hard for Astrid to wrap her head around, "And the Night Mother, who, according to everything we know, will only speak to the person that she has chosen as the Listener... just spoke... right now... to you?"
"That's correct." Amaryllis replied, though she really didn't see what part of this situation was hard to understand, as she felt that it was rather straightforward when one thought about it, even if she was still getting used to the idea that she was the Listener, the only person that could hear the voice of the Night Mother, meaning that she would likely hear the ancient voice again at some point in the future.
"By Sithis..." Astrid said, her tone revealing that she was shocked by what she was hearing and what it meant for her and her Family, while no doubt mentally blaming Cicero for bringing the Night Mother here in the first place, like she was afraid that Amaryllis might use the title and position to usurp her power or something, given what she had learned from Cicero after his arrival, before she focused on what else she might learn from the newest member of the Family, "And... what else did she say?"
"She told me to head to Volunruud, to speak with Amaund Motierre." Amaryllis answered, though while she had no idea where the crypt was located, as she was assuming that Volunruud was one of the numerous nordic crypts that happened to be scattered all across Skyrim, but she was interested in seeing what sort of person she had been tasked with talking to, since the name meant nothing to her.
"Amaund Motierre? I have no idea who that is." Astrid admitted, showing Amaryllis that she wasn't alone in having no idea who the Night Mother had been talking about, meaning it was likely someone that was from one of the other lands that were near Skyrim, even though they had come to Skyrim to talk with the brotherhood, before she considered the piece of information that interested her, "But Volunruud... that I have heard of. And I know where it is."
"Well, should I head out and talk to this man? I'm assuming that he has a contract for us." Amaryllis asked, because based on what little she knew about the Night Mother and the Listener, which was less than what everyone else knew about the pair, she did understand the fact that the ancient corpse heard the Black Sacraments and informed her chosen Listener about them, instead of the ineffective method Astrid and the others used, meaning they might have an important client to talk to in the near future.
"Hmm? No. No!" Astrid stated, where she turned to the side, as if she was going to leave the room they were in, while at the same time Amaryllis noticed that Cicero was glancing at Astrid, like he might be a little annoyed with her about what she had said, though all she did was remain still as she waited for the leader of the Sanctuary to tell her what they were going to do next, "Listen, I don't know what's going on here, but you take your orders from me. Are we clear on that? The Night Mother may have spoken to you, but I am still the leader of this Family. I will not have my authority over this Family so easily dismissed! I... I need time to think about all this. Go see Nazir, do some work for him. I'll find you when I'm ready to discuss the matter further."
Amaryllis, finding that the conversation was over and that Astrid was leaving the room they were in, sighed as she did the same thing, as she turned around and walked out the door she had used to get into this room, where she headed back to the eating area, where she found that Nazir still sitting at the table, though he did look up from the slips of paper that he had been looking at, the lists of contracts for her and everyone else, just as she came to a stop near the table.
"Astrid wanted me to see you and get the new list of contracts you have for me, assuming that you're ready to assign them to myself and the others." Amaryllis said, though she was really hoping that the new list Nazir had created for her this time around contained some challenging people for her to take out, maybe someone similar to Alain, but she would have to take whoever was assigned to her.
"Well then, your timing couldn't be better. As it turns out, I've got two new contracts for you." Nazir replied, which told Amaryllis that the amount of contracts he had found was enough to give everyone at least two targets, with a few of them being given three if they were lucky, so it made her interested in who her targets were, "One rather easy assignment, and another that should prove quite a challenge. Your first target is an Orc bard named Lurbuk, while the other is a vampire by the name of Hern. Happy hunting."
"Wait, Lurbuk, as in the bard that lives in Morthal?" Amaryllis asked, as she remembered what she had felt when she and Meeko had stopped in the city's inn, to rest for a short period of time before continuing to Dawnstar, though that was when Nazir nodded his head to confirm what she was saying, because she could kill two birds with one stone, "Well, when I was in Morthal earlier, during my hunt for Beitild, I heard his singing and determined that he was, by far, one of the worst bards I had ever heard, and his singing would have offended the ponies back home. I know where to find him, though I have no idea where Hern lives."
"He resides in Half-Moon Mill, a mill you likely passed on your way to Rorikstead," Nazir stated, where Amaryllis remained silent as he said that, as she did know where her second target was located, hence the reason she nodded to indicate that she understood what Nazir was saying, who seemed to smirk for a moment as she did that, "I'd wish you luck, but, given your abilities, your targets need all the luck in the world to avoid being taken out by you."
Amaryllis said nothing to that as well, rather she took the list that contained the names of her new contracts, before she made her way towards the entrance of the Sanctuary, where she found that Arnbjorn and the others must have left while she and Astrid were dealing with Cicero, no doubt to complete their own contracts, so she said farewell to Meeko as she headed outside, only to notice that it was an hour or two passed noon. Once she was back outside she spread her wings and took off, as her first target was to the north and should be quite the challenge, or at least that was what Nazir had said, and she was looking forward to seeing how challenging this contract proved to be, as a vampire had to be a harder target than anyone she had gone after so far. At the same time she found that her earlier thoughts about Lurbuk having a contract placed on him to be correct, though the surprising part was that she was the one that was being allowed to take the terrible bard out, instead of someone else, but, at the same time, since he was in Morthal she could get the third piece of the Razor, so she could return the fragments to Silus the next time she was near Dawnstar. It really seemed strange that one of her next targets were in Morthal, especially since she was just there a few days ago, but she wasn't about to argue with Nazir's decision and the pair of targets he had picked out for her, to which she set her sights on the mill that was her first destination and braced herself for whatever she found in that area.
It didn't take her that long to reach the immediate area that was around Half-Moon Mill, where she landed nearby and looked around the mill, as she was curious as to where her target was and where Hern's wife happened to be, as she was sure that the two people she had seen in this area the last time she came through here were husband and wife, and that added an extra layer of difficulty to this contract. The best hiding place she could find at the moment were some trees to the south of the mill, hence that was where she landed and switched to the form of the Bosmer she had taken earlier, just to ask the Thalmor a question, and made it look like she was a hunter, instead of an assassin, to which she had her bow at the ready and an arrow drawn, all to give her the appearance that she was tracking something. From what she could see neither Hern or his wife seemed to have noticed her at all, or if they did they weren't making any sudden movements that would tip her off, but for the most part it seemed like they were busy chopping wood and working on the mill, just like they had been doing the last time she came through here, meaning she would have to wait for her chance. Fortunately only a few minutes went by before the wife stopped working and headed into the house that was near the mill, leaving Hern to work alone for a time, meaning this was the best opportunity she had to take her target out, to which she moved like she was hunting a deer or something and then raised her bow, where she found that Hern still wasn't looking in her direction, which was good for her.
She let the magic wash over her as her true armor was revealed once more, where she loosed the arrow and watched as it flew through the air, only for the arrow to strike Hern's chest, causing him to stagger for a moment as he realized that he was under attack, but the force of her attack, coming from behind, seemed to be enough to make him stagger right into the moving blade of the sawmill, something that sliced his neck wide open. From there Amaryllis quickly rushed over to where Hern had fallen, before his wife came outside, and checked his body for a pulse, where she found that her attack had been more than enough to take out the vampire, meaning he had to be rather weak for such a powerful being, before she reverted to her true form and took off, as that was one target down and she had one more to the far north. She was sure that Hern's wife was going to be devastated when she found her husband dead, but, based on what she knew of the people of Skyrim, vampires weren't all that welcome and seemed to be disliked, or at least that seemed to be the case, so the reality of the situation should be that the wife should count herself lucky that she had been freed from Hern's grasp and could move on with her life. For now all Amaryllis had to focus on was getting to Morthal, find and kill Lurbuk, and then track down Jorgen so she could get the fragment he had, then maybe return to the Sanctuary to see if Astrid wanted to talk about what the Night Mother had told her earlier, as she was sure not listening to the Unholy Matron was a good way to bring misfortune to their Family.
As it turned out it only took her fifty minutes to reach Morthal, where she landed on the hill that lead down into the city and switched to an Argonain disguise this time around, because if she showed up in her Khajiit disguise she was sure that someone would wonder what she was doing back in the city so soon, but for the most part the guards ignored her and she was able to make her way to the inn without delay. Almost as soon as she entered the inn she was assaulted by someone, Lurbuk to be exact, singing a song to the innkeeper and some of the patrons, some who appeared to be ready to get up and stab the Orc for his bad taste in music, so killing him might not make anyone react as they would in other situations, like if she had done in Beitild out in the open, instead of in the mine. As such she walked over to where the innkeeper was standing, who seemed to be more focused on the Orc and telling him to stop before he chased her patrons out the door, before she slipped into one of the rooms, putting her out of everyone's sights for the time being, and switched back into her assassin attire, before readying another arrow as she crouched near the doorway. The reason she was picking this method was because the people of Skyrim had a hard time seeing people when they were like this, except for thieves and other shadowy people, but Lurbuk, who was busy singing his terrible song, didn't notice what she was doing and she came to a stop as her arrow lined up with the Orc's chest, where she loosed the arrow and let it fly, knocking her target to the floor in a matter of seconds.
Once the deed was done she shifted her armor back into the traveler armor she wore, not to be outed by the guards as an assassin, and walked out of the room, finding that no one seemed to care about Lurbuk and were actually happy for the first time, before she headed outside and found one of the guards so she could ask about Jorgen, who pointed her over the bridge and to the house that was on the outskirts of the city, where she found a Nord leaning against the side of the building, who she assumed was the person she was looking for.
"Excuse me, are you Jorgen?" Amaryllis asked, because she wanted to get this conversation done quickly so she could get back to the Sanctuary, report her successes to Nazir, and then see if Astrid had come to a decision, to which the Nord glanced in her direction for a few seconds, as if to see who was talking to him, before turning his attention to the mill that no one seemed to be working at right now, "I'm looking for the hilt of Mehrunes' Razor."
"I'm sorry friend, I am Jorgen, but I have no idea what you're talking about." the Nord replied, showing her that if the notes she had been given were correct, and this Nord really was the keeper of the final blade fragment, Jorgen was lying to make her go away and never return, and she could tell that he knew more about the hilt than what he was saying, once more thanks to her natural abilities, meaning she had the right person and would be out of here in no time.
"Is that so? Silus Vesuius says otherwise." Amaryllis stated, though she was hoping that the Nord would just give up the fragment and let her be on her way, despite the fact that it appeared he planned on being a little difficult by not telling her anything about the fragment, even though she was sure he had it somewhere, either on his person or in the house that he owned, since it wasn't something he could just throw away.
"I've heard of him. My father had suspicions about him being connected to the Mythic Dawn... I guess, in the end, all of his suspicions were true." Jorgen said, to which he let out a sigh, showing Amaryllis that he didn't seem to care about all of this and that he just wanted to be left alone, regardless of whether or not he kept the hilt, and it allowed her to form an idea in her mind, so this could reach it's end that much quicker, "Listen, I don't need this. My family wasted eight generations keeping the hilt of that cursed Razor safe from a dead cult. As far as I care, it can stay locked in my house."
"Well, since you don't seem to care about it, why don't I take it off your hands?" Amaryllis asked, because it seemed that Jorgen wasn't like Ghunzul and Drascua, who would fight to keep their fragments safe, rather he wanted nothing to do with the fragment and seemed like he wanted it gone, even if it would be some time before she gave the fragments she had to Silus, "Look, I'm not going to threaten you for the fragment, but just know that I'm the only one that will ask nicely, as Silus seems rather interested in claiming all three pieces of the Razor and, from what I've heard, he might have hired some dangerous individuals to claim them... but if I take the piece, and hand it over, he won't be sending anyone else to harass you in the future."
In the end that seemed to be the ticket that got her the fragment, as Jorgen considered what she said, a lie that could have easily have been the truth, before heading into his house for a few seconds, where he returned a few moments later with the hilt of the Razor, to which she thanked him and headed out of the city, leaving the man with the knowledge that no one would bother him about the fragment ever again, all while she set her course for the Sanctuary, to see if Astrid might have come to a decision on what she had learned earlier and what it might mean for their Family.