//------------------------------//
// Brotherhood: Broken Silence 
// Story: Skyrim: The Faces of Death 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

The hour long flight back to the Sanctuary gave Amaryllis time to think about her future, as the Night Mother had picked her, of all people, to be the Listener for the Dark Brotherhood, the only person that could hear her voice and relate what she had said to the rest of the Family, an honor to some and a curse to others, even though she was really caught off guard by this turn of events. She wasn't a native of this world, not like the rest of her Family was, had barely been here for more than a week, and now the Night Mother had picked her to be the Listener, though she would have to ask around and figure out exactly what this meant, as she was sure both the Unholy Matron and Astrid were expecting big things from her in the future. Of course there was the fact that Astrid was worried about losing her authority over the rest of the Family, even if Amaryllis didn't desire the position at all, but there was no telling what was going to happen when she returned to the Sanctuary and found Astrid, especially since she was beginning to sense that Astrid and Cicero were going to continue to clash with each other, in some manner, until one of them got hurt. She really didn't want the Family to fall apart, so soon after she joined them, but she couldn't blame anyone if such a thing happened, since it seemed that Astrid was being paranoid and that such a thing would likely come back to bite her in the rear at some point in the future.

In the end Amaryllis sighed as she descended down towards the black pool, where she stretched her arms and legs as soon as she landed, before heading inside the Sanctuary, where she was eager to tell Nazir the news about her contracts and then seek out Astrid so they could talk about what they had discovered, only to find that Astrid was standing near the bottom of the stairs, no doubt waiting for her to return from her contracts.

"I knew it wouldn't take you long to get back, not with your skills and those wings of yours." Astrid said, as it was easy to assume that the short list of contracts wouldn't have kept Amaryllis busy for too long, not when she had been given two targets to take out and could fly to where they were located, before she let out a sigh as she considered what she was about to say, which did interest Amaryllis a little as she came to a complete stop, "Listen, we need to talk."

"Of course, Astrid. What is it?" Amaryllis inquired, though while she knew that the conversation would be about what had happened in the room the Night Mother and her coffin rested in, and what they had learned earlier, she also knew there could be more to the discussion than just that, so she waited to see what the leader of the Sanctuary had to say before she bothered to say anything else.

"Look, something is happening here." Astrid replied, where she glanced back at the stairs that lead to the next area of the Sanctuary, where the waterfall rested and where most of the Family gathered when they wanted to talk about the last contracts they went out to complete, as if she was looking in the direction that Cicero and the Night Mother's room were located in, before turning to face her once more, "I'm not sure entirely what that something is, but... well, that's something we need to figure out. If the Night Mother really did give you an order to talk to a contact, like you said she did, we would have to be mad to ignore such a thing... and I think that most of our Family would agree with me on this, that we really won't need any more of that, since Cicero has brought quite enough madness to this Sanctuary. So go... go to Volunruud. It's a crypt, pretty far to the northeast. Talk to this Amaund Motierre, if he's actually waiting in that crypt. And let's see where all this leads, hmm?"

Amaryllis was a little surprised by how quickly Astrid had accepted the fact that the Night Mother might have spoken to someone in the Family, especially since she was still coming to terms with that as well, but, at the same time, she had to admit that she was eager to see what sort of person had performed the Black Sacrament and what sort of contract they wanted the Dark Brotherhood to fulfill. The first thing she did was get the exact location of Volunruud, which, according to the map that Astrid stood over, was to the north of Whiterun, possibly to the west of the farm that Cicero was stuck near earlier, so she had a general idea of where she needed to go and bid Astrid farewell, before she headed up the stairs and walked back outside once more. Once she was outside the Sanctuary again she took to the skies and quickly turned to the northeast, so she could get to Whiterun, only this time she made sure to move faster than before, because she knew that this had to be an important contract and she didn't want to keep the client waiting, as she had the feeling that he, and she was assuming that based on the name, was waiting in the crypt, patiently waiting for someone from the Dark Brotherhood to arrive and set up the contract he wanted them to complete. She was also sure that, once the others arrived from their own contracts, Astrid would tell them the news about her being the Listener and the fact that she was out seeking what the Night Mother told her about, if they arrived at the Sanctuary before she returned, which was a possibility since she had no idea where the others had wandered off to for their contracts.

With her increased speed it took her twenty minutes to reach the crypt that rested near the farm that Loreius and his wife owned, where she landed before the entrance and headed inside, only to immediately find a dead person a few steps in front of her, but it didn't appear that he was the person she was looking for, much to her relief since she knew Astrid would be upset if something happened to a potential client before the contract could be arranged. As she walked down the stairs, and headed towards the first chamber of this crypt so she could search for Amaund Motierre, the skeleton that was sitting in the throne to the left of the dead Nord rose from where it was sitting and picked up the old sword that was laying off to the side, only to fall apart when Amaryllis hit it with her dagger. It appeared that whatever magic had brought life to the skeleton only worked for sneak attacks, to catch foes unaware, but she was more than ready for it and had taken it out rather quickly, allowing her to enter the first major chamber for this crypt, where she found four paths she could take, each looking like they were promising in their own ways. The one that caught her attention, however, was one that was off to her left, because there were a number of corpses, preserved in a manner that was similar to the Night Mother, or at least from her perspective that was the case, that had been armed with ancient nordic weapons and, in some rare cases, even ebony weapons, like the midnight black sword and battleaxe that were on the floor, items that she would pick up when she left this area, as she was sure she could sell them to someone for a decent price.

Other than the corpses she found a door that looked like it had been opened and closed recently, to which she made sure her brotherhood armor was on, and the mask was slipped over her face, before she pushed the door open, where she found two people standing near one side of the chamber the door lead her to, one being a male Breton that was wearing some rather nice and expensive clothing while the other was a male Imperial that was a soldier, if the heavy steel armor of the Imperial Legion was anything to go by.

"By the almighty Divines! You've come. You've actually come!" the Breton declared, where his expression revealed that he was surprised by her sudden arrival, while at the same time his tone suggested that he had no idea if the ritual he had performed would even work, despite the fact that it worked for everyone else that did it, even if people didn't talk about the fact that they performed the ritual, "This dreadful Black Sacrament thing... it actually worked!"

"Indeed it did." Amaryllis replied, where she had to wonder why people were so surprised when they learned that the ritual actually worked, even if there had been no Listener for a quite a long time, based on everything she had learned from asking Cicero and the other members of the Family, before deciding that it was time she got down to business and figure out what in the world was going on at the moment, hence the reason she focused on the Breton so she could learn why she was here, "Amaund Motierre, the Night Mother has heard your pleas."

"Yes, um... So it would seem." Amaund stated, his posture showing that, while he was excited about what was going on at the moment, he was also nervous, which she could confirm by what she was feeling from the man, especially since she could sense that he was hiding something, which only made her even more curious as to what he wanted her and her Family to do, "Well, I won't waste your time. I would like to arrange a contract... several, actually. I daresay, the work I'm offering has more significance than anything your organization has experienced in, well, centuries."

"Go on." Amaryllis said, though now this was interesting, because it seemed like the man knew what he was doing, as in making sure to say that he had more than one target, instead of saying he had one and then asked for more than what the contract was for, and she was sure that Astrid and the others would be eager to hear the news when she got back, as soon as she figured out who the targets were anyway.

"As I said, I want you and your organization to kill several people. You'll find that the targets, as well as their manners of elimination, quite varied. I'm sure someone of your disposition will probably even find it enjoyable." Amaund stated, as if he was talking to a normal assassin that actually cared about that sort of thing, and part of Amaryllis was starting to care like the rest of her Family did, but she was hoping he'd give her the names of the targets that he wanted the brotherhood to eliminate for him, "But you should know that these killings are but a means to an end, for they pave the way to the most important target. The real reason I'm speaking with an assassin, in the bowels of this detestable crypt, is because I seek the assassination of ...the Emperor."

As soon as Amaund said the title Amaryllis nearly froze, as it was one thing to kill someone that was causing problems for a city or to kill someone that was a threat to the entire Hold, and there were people like Alain, but hearing that the Breton wanted her and her Family to kill someone as important as the Emperor of Tamriel, who ruled the Empire that the Imperial Legion swore to serve, seemed like something that was out of this world.

"You want us to kill... the Emperor?" Amaryllis inquired, because she needed a few moments to wrap her head around that piece of information, as she knew, without being told anything, that the Emperor had the highest level of security out of most of the important figures in all of Tamriel, so much so that everyone in her Family would have to stop what they were doing and work together to tackle the main target of this contract, and that wasn't counting everyone else that lead the way to the Emperor.

"That is correct." Amaund replied, though where one might expect the man's tone to be a little disappointed at having to say such a thing, or the fact that Amaryllis wasn't overjoyed by the news, Amaryllis detected that the man seemed to be a little worried about something, though what that something was she had no idea, "Of course I realize that what I ask of you and your organization is no small thing, rather, I know I'm asking a great deal from all of you. But you represent the Dark Brotherhood. This is... what you do, no? You must understand, so much has led to this day. So much planning, and maneuvering, and now, it's as if the very stars have finally aligned. But I digress. Here, take these with you. They need to be delivered to your, um... superior. Rexus, give her the items."

The soldier in question, who apparently went by the name of Rexus, walked forward and withdrew two items from a small pouch he was carrying, where Amaryllis received a sealed letter, which no doubt contained all the information that Astrid would need to understand what the man was asking them to do, and a diamond shaped necklace that looked like it might be rather expensive, especially with the small ruby that was in the middle of the necklace and the fact that it seemed to be made out of gold, while she had no idea what the design was supposed to represent.

"The sealed letter will explain everything that needs to be done." Amaund explained, almost as if he was telling this to someone that couldn't piece together all that information on their own, but Amaryllis still felt that there was something more to the Breton than what she was seeing at the moment, something that she couldn't quite place her finger on right now, even though he kept talking as he finished his explanation, "The amulet, on the other hand, is quite valuable... you can use it to pay for any, and all, expenses."

"Very well, I'll take this to my superior at once." Amaryllis replied, to which she placed the items in her pack and stood still for a few seconds, just to make sure that neither of them were going to attack her or say something more to her, but when neither Amaund or Rexus made a move she turned around and walked out of the room, making sure to close the door behind her so the pair could have their privacy before they left the crypt.

With the letter and amulet in hand, Amaryllis quickly collected the two ebony weapons she had found on the ground and found that, despite how heavy the battleaxe was, she was able to lift both of them and walk around like she didn't have a heavy item on her, to which she tilted her head for a moment, because it was hard to understand this land and the strange physics that she was discovering, before she headed for the entrance as she put the weapons away in her pack, where she was still amazed that large items could fit into the small storage area. Once she was outside, and she was sure there were no enemies in the area, or spies that were watching the crypt, she took to the air and departed from the part of Whiterun that Volunruud was located in, and she made sure to use the same speed that she had used to reach the ruin in the first place, so she could deliver the news to Astrid and see what she wanted them to do next. As she flew through the air, and headed for the Sanctuary, she knew for a fact that there was something different about Amaund Motierre, as he seemed different than anyone she had encountered so far, and she had encountered quite a fair number of people during her stay in this world, but she couldn't place her finger on what was different about him, though what she immediately ruled out was him being one of the Daedric Princes, due to the fact that the Oblivion Crisis had sealed their kind in Oblivion, based on what she had been told, and due to the fact that the man didn't seem to be radiating a commanding voice like Meridia did when she touched the beacon. She did briefly consider the possibility of Amaund being one of the Divines, but then ruled that out, as the Divines were worshiped by the Empire and it didn't make sense for one of them to want the head of said Empire to be killed by the Dark Brotherhood, so she discarded that idea and kept thinking about why she felt that the Breton was different from everyone else.

In the end she found that she couldn't determine why Amaund was so different from the other people she had seen so far, to which she sighed as she landed in front of the Sanctuary's entrance about twenty minutes after leaving the ruin she had found the client in, where she opened the door and headed down the stairs, though she wasn't at all surprised to see that Astrid was still up, meaning she could inform her of what was going on without having to wake her up, as she was sure that the news she had was going to amaze her.

"Excellent, you're back." Astrid said, her tone revealing that she had been thinking about the man and what he could have asked them to do, due to the fact that the Night Mother had heard his pleas for help, before she turned around and faced Amaryllis, where she found that the leader of her Family seemed torn between hoping she had good news to tell her and hoping that all of this was a joke, so she could forget about the Unholy Matron and Cicero, "All right, so what did you find out? Did you meet this Amaund Motierre and figure out what he wants us to do?"

"Yes, I found him and his protector in Volunruud," Amaryllis replied, informing Astrid that she had found the man she had been told about, in the location he was supposed to be in, and let her tone reveal that there was more for her to say, even if it was something that she was still coming to terms with, especially when she thought about how important the target was to the rest of Tamriel, before she focused on the bomb she was going to drop, "Amaund Motierre wants us... he wants us to kill the Emperor."

"You're joking!" Astrid stated, where both her tone and her face revealed that there was next to no way she could even believe what Amaryllis was telling her, not that Amaryllis blamed her based on her own thoughts, and she glanced in the direction that the metallic coffin rested in once more, almost like she was going to leave the room and strangle Cicero for bringing this nonsense to her Sanctuary.

In that moment, before Astrid moved from where she was standing, Amaryllis reached into her pack and pulled out the pair of items she had been given, a motion that stopped the leader of the Family in her tracks as she stared at them for a few seconds, her mind appearing to have slowed down for a few moments as she took in what was in front of her, which was a reaction Amaryllis expected from anyone that was told this bit of news and saw these items.

"What's this?" Astrid asked, though this time her tone revealed that she was thinking of this less like an elaborate joke of some kind and more like the actual truth, despite the fact that it was clear she needed further confirmation on what was happening at the moment, while Amaryllis also noticed that she was focused on the potential reputation her Family would gain from such a thing.

"According to Amaund, the letter explains everything he wants us to do." Amaryllis explained, though at the same time she looked down at the items once more, as she was a little curious as to what the letter said, despite the fact that she did know that whatever was inside it wasn't for her to lay eyes on, as the client had told her it was for her superior and no one else, and she was going to follow that order, "The amulet is for any expenses we encounter along the way."

"By Sithis, you're not joking." Astrid replied, though that was when a look of shock appeared on her face as she glanced at the items, as she was expecting this to be a joke or something equally silly, but discovering that Amaryllis was telling the truth, that they were being hired to assassinate such an important figure, had shaken her a little, to which Amaryllis stood there as she waited for any further instructions, "To kill the Emperor of Tamriel... the Dark Brotherhood hasn't done such a thing since the assassination of Pelagius. As a matter of fact, no one has dared assassinate an Emperor of Tamriel since the murder of Uriel Septim VII, and that was two hundred years ago..."

"Surely the Night Mother wouldn't misdirect us?" Amaryllis inquired, but while all of this was news to her, since she knew nothing about this world and it's history, save for the Oblivion Crisis that seemed to be connected to Uriel Septim VII, her brief knowledge of the figure that was known as the Unholy Matron told her that the Night Mother wouldn't do something like this to the Dark Brotherhood, rather she would make sure that such an assassination was passed along to the Family, one way or another.

"No, she certainly wouldn't." Astrid stated, her tone revealing that she was agreeing with Amaryllis, though even as she said that there was something she was focused on, something she wasn't going to share right now, and she stared at the items Amaryllis had in her hand, like her thoughts and the items were connected in some way, "And... for whatever reason, she chose to relay Motierre's information to you, the newest and most inexperienced member of the Family... no offense. I don't know exactly what's going on here, if you're the Listener, or this is some fluke, or what. But what we now have before us is... an opportunity."

"I'm assuming that you want accept the contract?" Amaryllis asked, because it was like Astrid had said earlier, it was sheer madness for them to ignore the Night Mother and not follow through on what she had told them, even if what she gave the Family was a contract to kill a number of individuals that paved the way to the Emperor of Tamriel, which would likely put them in the history books if they succeeded in their mission, even though she was sure that the others would be far more interested in the payment at the end of this.

"You're damn right we'll accept it." Astrid declared, her tone showing that she was finally back in control of herself and that she was now thinking clearly, as she had accepted what was happening and wanted to roll with it, before deciding to tell Amaryllis part of the reason why she wanted to accept this so badly, before telling the others the news, "If we pull this off, the Dark Brotherhood will know a fear and respect we haven't seen in centuries. You think I'd abandon an opportunity to lead our Family to glory? But, to be honest, all of this is so much to take in. I need time to read the letter, to understand what Motierre wants us to do, and figure out where we go from here. And then there's this amulet..."

"What are you thinking?" Amaryllis inquired, though she had the feeling that they needed to find someone that could tell them something about it and what went into making it, as her own thoughts on the matter was that it was a nice piece of jewelry and it wasn't something that someone would easily part with, and she could tell that Astrid might actually be thinking the same thing she was thinking.

"I'm thinking we need to get the amulet appraised." Astrid said, confirming Amaryllis' thoughts on the matter, though she did stare at the piece of jewelry for a few more moments as she thought about what was going through her mind at the moment, before shifting her gaze to Amaryllis, "I want to know where it came from, how much it's worth, and if we can actually get away with selling it. And, as it turns out, there's only one man who can give us what we need... Delvin Mallory. He's a fence, a private operator, who works out of the Ratway, which is located in Riften. Give me the letter, so I can review it while your gone, as I want you to take the amulet to Mallory. Find out everything you can about it, and sell it to him if he's willing to take it off your hands. He'll offer a letter of credit... that's fine. Delvin Mallory and the Dark Brotherhood have... history. He can be trusted."

"Right." Amaryllis replied, to which she handed Astrid the letter and then slipped the amulet back into her pack, before turning around and headed outside once more, because everything she had learned so far told her that this was going to be a very important operation and that Astrid wanted to make sure everything was checked out before the Family started the biggest contract of their lives.

As soon as she was outside Amaryllis took to the sky and headed to the east, as she intended to hit Riften in an hour and a half, more than enough time for her to seek out the nighttime residents of the city, if there were any, and figure out where the Ratway was located, so she could find Delvin and see what this amulet really was, and, more importantly, if he was willing to buy it. Based on what little she had been told she had to assume that Delvin was a thief, or maybe someone that made jewelry, hence the reason Astrid mentioned him specifically, and she had to admit that she was a little eager to see who the man was and what he had to say in regards to the amulet she was carrying. At the same time she was also a little curious as to what the other contracts that Amaund Motierre wanted them to take out, to reach the Emperor, even though she understood that she would know the targets once her Family knew them, since she was sure that this sort of thing would require all of them to work together to get the job done. She still felt that there was something about the man that made him different from the rest of the people she had seen, but her conclusions only told her that she might be overthinking things and that her time would be better suited towards focusing on what she was doing and nothing else, to which she focused on flying and made her way to Riften.

Thanks to the speed she was flying at it took Amaryllis an hour and five minutes to reach Riften, as while she had used one of her faster speeds she knew that she hadn't been using the same speed she used to get to Volunruud, though she made sure to land near the main entrance, by the wall to the gate's left, since the guards couldn't see her over there, and quickly switched into her Khajiit form before she was spotted. Once that was done, and she made sure that she looked like one of the travelers, she headed for the gate and found that the guard that had tried to get her to pay a fee to enter the city was either no longer at this gate or his boss had told him to stop that scheme, but either way it didn't matter that much to her as she walked through the gate and entered the city again. She found that not a lot of people were up, which made sense since it wasn't the time of day when all of the people got up and wandered around the cities and towns that  they lived in, be it setting up shop for the day if they owned a shop or were out shopping, but right now the only residents she spotted were the guards, not to mention a Nord that looked like he was ready to beat someone up. That meant that finding her way to the Ratway might be more difficult than she first thought, since she figured that the guards wouldn't be willing to help her locate Delvin, meaning that her only hope at the moment might be the angry looking Nord that was standing off to her left, even if he wasn't her first choice, to which she readied herself and walked over to him.

"I don't know you." the Nord stated, speaking the obvious, since neither of them knew each other and it was unlikely that such a thing would change, but Amaryllis said nothing as she waited for him to stop talking, as it appeared that most of the people in Skyrim liked to go through a few things before they allowed someone else to talk about something, which was rather odd when she thought about it, "You in Riften looking for trouble?"

"No, I'm just passing through, looking for someone before I head to Whiterun." Amaryllis replied, indicating that she wasn't here to cause chaos for the residents of the city and hoped that the man wouldn't start anything while she was looking for the Ratway, though there was no telling what some people would do and knew that she needed to be ready for anything, even though her hands were nowhere near her weapons.

"Oh yeah? Well, I got news for you; there's nothing to see here." the man stated, completely ignoring the fact that she had said that she was looking for someone, meaning that he seemed to think she was a tourist or something, though all that told Amaryllis was that she needed to get the conversation done and find someone else that could help her locate the Ratway, "Last thing the Black-Briars need is some stranger sticking their nose where it doesn't belong."

"They won't have to worry about me." Amaryllis said, though at the same time, since it was clear that the man didn't want to talk about anything, she decided to ignore him for the foreseeable future and walked into the heart of Riften, an action that caused the Nord to get up and walk to another part of the city as well, but thankfully he was heading to one of the other areas and she was less likely to see him ever again.

Amaryllis spent the next ten minutes wandering around the market area of Riften, not that she could buy anything since it was still dark out, looking for the entrance to the Ratway that would allow her to find Delvin and ask him about the amulet she was carrying in her pack, and she spent a small portion of that time thinking about asking the guards if they knew where that area was located. As it turned out she didn't need to ask them anything, as they seemed to buy into the fact that she was a traveler and that she would be leaving once she did what she came here to do, though as she walked around the area she was in the guards made several comments about the Ratway, that it was the home of the Thieves Guild, that it rested under the city and that it was no place for decent folk, and that there was even a tavern of some kind down there, the Ragged Flagon. When she was near the orphanage, where Aventus was likely resting since he said he was planning on returning since Grelod was dead, one of the guards actually pointed down to the lower level of the city, the canal to be exact, and pointed out a door that had a iron door some distance in front of it, indicating that the door would take her to the Ratway and, eventually, the Ragged Flagon, which seemed to be her true destination. As such Amaryllis dropped down into the area that the guard had pointed out, made sure that no one was watching her movements, and then headed down towards the set of doors, making sure to close them behind her as she finally entered the Ratway and started the next stage of her search for Delvin, all while shifting back into her assassin armor.

As she walked down the stairs that she found on the other side of the door, however, she found a path that lead her right to a bedroll that was near a fire, but with no one near it, and a tunnel that brought her to a wooden bridge, a very simple one from the looks of it, meaning that someone had been through here recently, before finding a door that had to be what she was looking for. As such she opened the door and walked through it, where she discovered a very large chamber that looked like the center of a sewer, meaning she should stay away from the water until she was outside, though one thing she did find was that there were a few people sitting at the tables in the area known as the Ragged Flagon, which seemed to be open at the moment. From what she could tell there was a lady walking on the deck above part of the water, wearing what Amaryllis assumed was the armor of the Thieves Guild, another lady that was leaning against one of the posts near the first lady, an innkeeper that was behind the bar, a man that was standing near the entrance as some sort of guard, and a man, who was older than most and seemed to have no hair, that was currently sitting at one of the tables, apparently thinking about something. The first thing she did was approach the man that was guarding the Ragged Flagon, who didn't seem to care about her being there in the first place, but he did answer the question she had for him, as she asked where she might find Delvin Mallory, as they had business to discuss, and he answered by beckoning to the man that was sitting at the table, alone she noticed, before crossing his arms as he looked at her.

Amaryllis thanked the man for helping her and then walked over to where Delvin happened to be sitting, where she took a seat in front of him and hoped that he was in a good mood, and was willing to entertain a visitor for a few minutes, while noticing that the ladies and the innkeeper were keeping an eye on her, in case she caused some trouble for them, and it wasn't long before the man she was here to see looked up at her.

"Ah, now you must be lost." Delvin said, though she noticed the look in his eyes, as he had glanced at the armor she was wearing for a second and decided not to pay much attention to it, as she could have easily killed a member of the Dark Brotherhood and took the armor from their corpse, and he was trying to get her to leave, "Best ya scurry off while you're able. The Ratway, well, it has a habit of swallowing up the uninvited."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Amaryllis replied, where she found that Delvin seemed interested in what she had to say while the others seemed to return to what they had been doing before she arrived, even though she knew that they would turn on her the moment she tried something, hence the reason she was sticking to the reason she came here so she could leave once her job was done, "Delvin Mallory, the Dark Brotherhood requires your services."

"Oh... I see. Well now, how is Astrid doing these days?" Delvin said, his tone not changing as he said that, meaning that he did know why Amaryllis was here, once she told him that she was here for her Family anyway, and that he was ready for whatever was going to be asked of him, where he focused on her as he considered what they were going to talk about for the next few minutes, "Tell her to stop by some time. We can have a drink, maybe catch up. Ah, but we can discuss that later, yeah? Tell me, what does the Brotherhood need this time around?"

"What can you tell me about this?" Amaryllis asked, to which she pulled out the amulet she had been given and placed it in Delvin's hand, as he had extended his right hand the moment she spoke up, showing that he already understood part of the reason that she was here, where she let go of the amulet and watched as Delvin stared at it for a moment, still not showing any reaction to what was going on.

"Let's  see... where oh where did you get this?" Delvin commented, showing Amaryllis that he already knew what he was holding at the moment, though that was when he raised his left hand and beckoned for her to stop, as if he was telling her that he wasn't being serious about hearing where she had gotten the amulet, before he focused on the information he was going to tell her, "Don't answer that... I really don't want to know. This is an amulet from one of the members of the the Emperor's Elder Council, where each amulet is specially crafted for each member and are worth a small fortune... ain't something you'd give up lightly either. Look, it ain't my business ta tell the Dark Brotherhood its business, but if you killed a member of the Elder Council, you'd better belie..."

"Trust me, we didn't kill one of them." Amaryllis stated, cutting Delvin off before he accused her and her Family for a death that none of them were responsible for, though what interested her was that the man didn't resume the statement she had interrupted, so she decided to get back to the main reason behind why she was here as she looked at the amulet once more, which Delvin glanced at as well, "Will you buy it?"

"Buy it? This? An Elder Council amulet?" Delvin inquired, his tone revealing that he was a little surprised by the fact that he was being given an opportunity to acquire a nice amulet like this, before a small grin appeared on his face as he set the amulet down and reached into his pack, which meant Amaryllis had to be on the right track, and it wasn't long before he found what he was looking for in the pouch, "Oh yes. Oh yes, indeed. Wait just one moment... here. It's a letter of credit. Usable, by Astrid only, for any service or item I can provide, as per our standard arrangement. You bring that back to your  lovely mistress, with my regards."

Amaryllis found that Delvin had a piece of paper in his left hand, the letter of credit Astrid had told her about, to which she thanked him for helping them out and made sure to take the piece of parchment, as it was what she had been sent to get in exchange for the amulet, before excusing herself as she pulled herself from the table and headed back towards the entrance of the Ragged Flagon, as it was time to return to the Sanctuary once more. The moment she was back in the area known as the Ratway, and no one from the underground tavern could see her, she shifted back into her traveler disguise as she headed for the surface, as she was eager to get out of here before someone tried to rob her, because she had no way of knowing what the other thieves would attempt before she left the city. To her surprise, however, she was able to get back up to the upper level of the city and found that the guards weren't paying attention to the area the entrance of the Ratway was located in, meaning she was able to get back up there rather easily and headed back towards the gate she used to enter the city. What was interesting was that a thief, dressed in a brown version of the armor she had seen Delvin and the others wear, was attempting to break into one of the houses and stores that were scattered throughout the city, where the guards seemed to notice the motion as well and zeroed in on where the thief was located, loosing arrows at the man as he attempted to flee, providing Amaryllis with a distraction so she could exit the city without anyone watching her as she did that.

Thanks to that it didn't take her long to get outside the city walls and return to the area she had landed in, where she shifted back to her true form and took off, heading back to the west so she could bring Astrid the news that she had sent her out to get, as she was sure the leader of her new Family would be interested in the information she had recovered from Delvin, just as it interested her quite a bit.





It took her another hour to cross the distance between Riften and Falkreath once more, where she spent the time thinking about the things she had learned and what had happened since the Night Mother had spoken to her, but all she could figure out was that things were about to get interesting for her and her Family, especially since it seemed like Astrid and the others were in need of something more challenging. She was sure that going after the Emperor was going to excite all of them, especially with all the layers of security that he had to have, though she would only know something like that once she got back and talked to the others again, even if the only one that would be annoyed would be Cicero, due to the fact that he was the Keeper and couldn't stray too far from the Night Mother. There were other things she would have to ask the rest of the Family about in the near future, about their feelings on the contract they had been given and what they were going to do to take them all down, but she was sure that Astrid would have something to tell her once she returned to the Sanctuary and told her the news. The other thing she was happy about was that there were no flying objects causing her to move from place to place, like the massive black dragon that had been near Riverwood for a short period of time, as that would have ruined her mood for a long time, not to mention case her to deviate until it fled, allowing her to focus on the task she was completing at the moment.

By the time she stopped considering everything that has happened to her since she arrived in this land, and what she was doing, the next thing she spotted was the black pool that rested outside the Sanctuary, to which she landed in front of the black door and headed inside, where she walked down the stairs on the other side and found Astrid standing at the table once more, no doubt going over the information that was in the letter and the map of Skyrim, before she stopped what she was doing as Amaryllis came to a stop near her.

"Good, you're back." Astrid said, her tone revealing that, now that she's had the time to read the letter and has seen what Amaund wanted them to do, she was eager to learn what Amaryllis had to share with her and let the last pieces of the puzzle fall into place, before she started dishing out orders to the Family and got them started on the massive contract that they were being hired to do, "Well, what did Mallory have to say? Is the amulet authentic?"

"Yes, according to Delvin it's definitely authentic," Amaryllis replied, as the information concerning the amulet had been quite interesting and she knew Astrid would feel the same way, even if it might have nothing to do with the contract they had been given, but that was her own opinions on the matter and knew that Astrid would determine whether or not it had something to do with their new contract, "and it's one of the amulets that are specially made for members of the Elder Council, meaning its worth a small fortune."

"The Elder Council?! ...Oh, now that explains quite a bit." Astrid stated, where at first she sounded a little surprised by the information she had been given, that the amulet had been worn by a member of the Elder Council, before she paused for a moment as a light smile appeared on her face and she chuckled for a few seconds, before she stopped and focused on Amaryllis once more, "Motierre, you naughty, naughty boy. Hiring the Dark Brotherhood to help you rise beyond your station... it's delicious. Tell me, was Mallory willing to buy the amulet from you?"

"Indeed he was." Amaryllis answered, to which she reached into her pack and withdrew the letter she had been given, in exchange for the Elder Council amulet Amaund had given them, before she held it out so Astrid could take it and make sure everything was in order, all while hoping that she could finally learn who their first target was, "Here's the letter of credit that he gave me, when I asked if he was willing to buy it."

"Splendid." Astrid replied, to which she took the letter of credit and opened it for a moment, where the small smile turned into a smirk as she looked at the information that the piece of parchment had for her, before she closed it and took a moment to slip it into her pocket, "Then we're ready to begin our operation... or, to be more specific, you're ready to begin taking out the targets on the list, as you're the one the Night Mother spoke to, after all. Now then, I hope you have a nice suit or dress to wear, because you're going to a wedding."

"A... wedding?" Amaryllis inquired, because that sounded like the strangest target for her to go after first, someone that was getting married to the love of their life, and silently hoped that there was a reason as to why Amaund wanted them to take out someone on one of the biggest days of their lives, because right now she wasn't seeing a connection between such an event and the Emperor.

"Well, more like the public reception, as the wedding, from what I've learned, was earlier today." Astrid said, where it was easy to tell that she was annoyed with something, that she and her Family hadn't heard about the event until it was over, but, at the same time, there was another bit of information for her to tell Amaryllis, so she had all the pieces of the puzzle before she left to set the wheel in motion, "It should be a lovely affair, even if it's the day after the wedding. You'll mingle with the guests, eat some cake... stab the bride. Oh yes, you've got to kill the bride, at the public reception of her very own wedding... and they say romance is dead."

"Okay, that's good to know." Amaryllis replied, though that was incredibly odd, that they had been given the contract to kill a few people, before reaching the Emperor, and the first target just so happened to be having their wedding on the day they were given the contract, where tomorrow seemed to be the best day to take them out, but it was a coincidence that she wasn't going to ignore, "So, who's the target?"

"Her name is Vittoria Vici." Astrid stated, where her tone revealed that she and her Family had been keeping their eyes on specific targets in Skyrim, even if they didn't know about the wedding until now, and she was willing to impart some of the information she had to Amaryllis, to ready her for the contract in question, "She oversees the East Empire Company's business holdings in Solitude... in fact, the wedding was held in that city, at the Temple of the Divines. Her death will cause an uproar, which is exactly what we want, and, with her position, the Emperor will hear about it in no time. Vici is likely to address her guests frequently, as is the wedding custom... if you kill her when she does that, I can promise you that you will receive a significant bonus when you get back."

Amaryllis nodded her head in understanding, as she heard about the bonuses and that she would be required to do some odd things to get them, but instead of heading out immediately, to see what Solitude was like, she decided to turn in and get a few hours of rest, before asking the others for their opinions on the matter and then, when that was said and done, head out to take care of the first target on their list.