After talking about their plan, and what everyone was going to have to do, Capper did exactly what they had told the clan, he started to give Midnight, Rarity, and Azure a lesson on how to be thieves, or at the very least the roles they had given themselves before meeting the clan. He couldn't teach them some of the finer things, such as picking a lock or stealing from someone's pocket, as that would land them in hot water with La'nari and the rest of the bandit clan, but he could show them how to carefully sneak around for a time. In addition to that he made sure they knew how to silently listen to what was around them so they could accurately move through the portion of the fort their khajiit friend had brought them to, and since there were some bandits in the area they even got evaluated. Azure was a failure, they could see him easily, while Rarity had a tiny bit of skill despite her accidentally hitting something and revealing her presence to them, though Midnight, as Capper assumed, seemed to be somewhat skilled in hiding herself from the others, as she revealed herself when she thought it was time to do so.
Part of the reason for doing that was so they could gain information on the clan, not to be used against them, rather he just wanted to know the full number of members and the layout of the structure they were calling home, and they found that some of the bandits were more than willing to show them around while telling them about themselves.
That allowed them to discover that some of the bandits were definitely friendlier than one would assume, because there were a few members of the clan that were doing this because they were people accused of crimes and didn't have the gold to pay their fines, telling the group that those ones wanted to return to a normal life. Of course there were others in the clan that seemed to enjoy the act of killing and that they didn't want to be caught by the guards, so they fled the Hold that they were wanted in, though Azure wanted nothing to do with those bandits and forced himself to remain neutral for the time being. In addition to that there were also Skooma addicts among their ranks, a drug that was addicting and would ruin the life of whoever took it, at least that was their guide's opinion on the matter, and a number of gamblers who just wanted to make some gold to bet on the wolf matches. The bandit explained that there were a few dens where people bred and pitted wild wolves against each other, with people betting on who the winner might be, which was information they weren't expecting to gain, but none of them asked a question about it, rather they just decided to accept it as part of their new reality.
Capper also gained an understanding of the exact members of the clan, as there were fifteen warriors, seven archers, two mages, one thief in the form of La'nari, both leaders, and then the four of them, which made him realize that it was a good thing this fort was so large, since it had more than enough room for everyone.
Such a thing also explained why food was one of the top items on the list for this clan, hence why three archers and five warriors usually went out in the morning and hunted around the area, as it appeared that bandits would eat anything, even bears if they were lucky enough to bring one down. Stealing from others also allowed them to provide for the clan with ease, since most of the people that came by had food, in fact they occasionally brought down a group of soldiers and took their supplies, all while selling off the armor as if they had found the pieces in an animal's lair or something. That meant the rest of the clan had to stay and keep an eye on the surrounding area, as in the hill behind the fort and the road that rested on the other side of the river, just in case there were people to rob or individuals to worry about. It was an interesting thing for sure, especially when he found that even Brurid and Bek-Kajin came out to study the walls from time to time, and the various stations that the rest of the clan had set up to protect themselves from arrows or spells, while allowing them to keep an eye out for potential trouble.
Capper had asked one of the warriors about that statement, since 'potential trouble' was something they had to keep an eye out for as well, and he had to admit that the information he obtained was more interesting than he had expected it to be, as it was about the various heroes and dangerous people of the land. In addition to masters of their craft, like master assassins that could wipe out an entire camp on their own, powerful warriors that beat giants, or great wizards that could scorch their foes to ashes, there were people who seemed weak for the first few seconds before killing bandits that were greater than them. The warrior had told him that a number of the scholars called those people 'heroes', such as the Hero of Kvatch, a figure that helped save the world back during the Oblivion Crisis, who were seemingly ordinary people who had greatness thrust upon them, and those special people could do things that not even the masters of a craft could do, despite having less experience than a master. Capper then talked to a few more members of the clan and learned that no such individual existed in Skyrim, or at least they assumed so, but Brurid, who overheard him asking, mentioned the war that was ongoing and guessed a hero might show up to deal with it.
After getting back together Capper shared what he had learned with the rest of the group, who were interested in what could be learned from the clan, before they turned in for the night, where he made sure that there was someone keeping watch, just in case things turned south.
As it turned out he didn't have to worry about the other bandits coming to do them harm, rather they had accepted them into the clan and had no desire to disturb them during their first night in the fort, though as everyone got up one bandit came by and invited them to breakfast. While Capper and his companions were used to the food in Equestria they weren't really ready for eating meat, cooked in a stew with vegetables and cooked potatoes, where he found that the rift had one last gift for them, which was the ability to actually eat the food of this world without gagging or getting sick. Sure, Rarity and Azure had trouble with that fact and did their best to make sure the bandits didn't see them as food wasters, while Midnight was more like Capper, they showed no hesitation, though he had to admit that it was actually quite good, which meant their chef had some skill. That was also considering the fact that there was bread and other pieces of food as well, which was interesting to see and all four of them enjoyed having it as well, meaning they would be ready for their mission to visit Riften, whenever the leaders of the clan decided that it was time to get going.
After their meal the group found that Brurid was calling for them to get ready, where Capper discovered that the wagon had a single crate in the back, allowing three of them more room to sit during the ride to Riften, and La'nari was standing by it, wearing a brown set of leather armor that was more suited for stealth work, and it even had a hood that she pulled back for a few seconds.
"I haven't worn this for quite a while... was almost afraid that it wouldn't fit at all, but then found that it fit just like when I first got it." La'nari commented, as she could see that Capper was interested in her attire, with the pouches and areas that she could hide all of her thief tools in, something she had used to great effect back when she was an actual member of the Thieves Guild, "Our leaders have loaded one of the crates up with some of the easier to sell items, jewelry mostly, so we should be able to get quite a bit of gold from my contacts... even after we buy some gear for you guys and some supplies for the clan."
"A test run of sorts, to make sure the goods are worth the effort? Sounds good to me." Capper replied, where he climbed up onto the sitting area at the front as Midnight and the others took the back with the crate, allowing La'nari to sit beside him once more, because she knew the ins and outs of the land, so having her at the front made sense.
Of course Brurid and Bek-Kajin had a few words for them, mostly to make sure La'nari understood that she was to get the best price possible for the items before they sent more to the city, causing her to nod before the pair let them depart from the fort, this time continuing down the road they had been on previously. Like last time La'nari kept an eye out for dangers and made sure Capper followed the main path that was in front of them, following a road that went around several bends as he noted that the signs indicated that they were on their way to Riften. Rarity, Midnight, and Azure stayed in the back and kept their eyes open for anything dangerous that might come up from behind them, since there was a chance that an animal or another bandit might try to come after them. Of course most of them were unarmed, mostly because some of them didn't have experience with weapons, so they were hoping that La'nari would be able to assist them, even though Capper suspected that Azure might be able to use his new greatsword if he needed to, as he had spent some time with the warriors to be sure he could use the weapon.
While they traveled, however, Capper and La'nari went over the plan one last time, as they were going to enter the city, track down someone called Brynjolf, who was basically the recruiter for the Guild while also being one of the few higher ranking members, and talk to him before selling the loot to Tonilia. It was rather simple, if Brynjolf remembered her as a former thief that had sided with the Guild, even though she left while it was declining, there was a chance he might listen to her when she came to sell him some of the items they had acquired, though it was always a gamble. It really depended on Mercer Frey, the Guild Master, because he wasn't big on forgiveness and usually had traitors executed, but she wasn't a traitor, not like Karliah, who had murdered Mercer's predecessor in cold blood, so she didn't have to worry about being put to death. What she had to worry about was him deciding that she was no longer an asset that was worth allowing his agents to work with, which would mean getting cut off from Tonilia and everything she could offer, something that would annoy both of the leaders of her clan, since it would make it harder to sell things in the future.
After talking about the plan for a time, since there was no one around to worry about, Capper found his focus shifting to a group that was coming their way, nords that happened to be wearing what appeared to be specialized fur armor that no doubt had metal underneath it all to protect them from harm, something that caused La'nari to sigh in annoyance as she raised her hood and covered her head.
"Stormcloaks... I was hoping to avoid them. Focus on the road and hope they go by." La'nari said, while at the same time also lowering her head more so that none of the soldiers noticed her, or rather the fact that she was a khajiit, because this force was racist against anyone, literally anyone, who wasn't a nord, which was probably why every other race was part of the Legion, including nords that were loyal to the empire.
Unfortunately it appeared that the group of soldiers had other plans as they got close to the wagon, where Capper and the others found that the Stormcloaks weren't too pleased with their existence, as most of them were wearing revealing helms, allowing them to see their faces and the disapproving looks on their faces.
"Great, more beast races thinking that they own Skyrim." one of the soldiers remarked, confirming that he and his friends weren't too happy to see the group, in fact one or two of them might be itching to grab their weapons for some reason, but at the very least they weren't attacking the wagon, otherwise Capper was sure they would be in trouble, "A word of advice, 'friends', turn back while you still can... your kinds have no place in this land. Skyrim is nord land, and she belongs to nords, plain and simple."
"Don't worry, we are fully aware of that fact. However, we are on our way to Riften to trade some items and do business, as ordered by our superiors, and business is good for everyone, yes?" Capper replied, where he knew that Azure and Midnight likely didn't care much for the Stormcloak soldiers, especially since Equestria was a place where everyone was treated far better than what they were seeing at the moment, as racism was fading in their home world, "Once we are done with our business we'll be heading back to Cyrodiil."
That was the 'official' story they had come up with, especially since La'nari had claimed that the people of Skyrim wouldn't bother to check out if their tale was the truth or not, so they didn't have to worry about being called out on it, where they found that the soldier growled before saying nothing as his forces continued moving. Capper made sure they were a fair distance away from them before he got the wagon moving again, though they now understood La'nari's thoughts on this particular force, but for the time being everyone focused on the path and what was resting at the end of it. There would be time for them to talk about the Stormcloaks later, once they were done with their mission, though there was another thing that stopped the group in their tracks, not ten minutes further down the road, something that caused the khajiit to sigh as she looked at the scene. It was a trio of figures that were wearing the same armor that La'nari was wearing, where she was able to identify them as members of the Thieves Guild, but she didn't know any of them, where Capper found that one body was a male dark elf, the second was a male khajiir, and the third was a female argonian.
If one looked at their clothing it was hard to tell what could have killed them, since they seemed to be unharmed, but the arrows sticking out of all three of their foreheads was a dead giveaway, plus a story was told as Capper found that each one had a sake full of silverware, plus a couple of gems and some silver cups.
"They must have robbed someone and got killed in the process of escaping." Capper remarked, where he climbed off the wagon after bringing it to a stop, which was due to La'nari climbing off to check the thieves for a moment, though he did take their sacks, since they might be able to sell the stuff as well, before an idea came to mind, "Midnight, why don't you and Rarity put on one of the uniforms?"
La'nari understood immediately, there might be more Stormcloaks on the road and this would allow them to hide their more unique features, especially since both of the figures in question seemed to have magic that was designed to assist them in hiding themselves, as the hoods were altered to fit their ears and the armor gained holes for their tails. Not only that, but it looked like Midnight's wings vanished as well, though she revealed that she could reveal them or hide them according to her will, making her wonder what sort of magic they had from their homeland that would allow such a thing in the first place. She was sure that Azure would do the same thing, the armor fitting his form if he put something on, but since he was the lookout they had to get some decent armor, which meant that the third set went to Capper, which he did as the others did, hid behind the nearby rocks while he changed. She did find that Rarity seemed freaked out by the idea of wearing someone else's armor, even if that person was no longer of this world, but for the time being she was forcing herself to not be freaked out by this turn of events.
When Capper emerged she found that he was wearing the thieves armor like it was something natural for him, making her wonder about his time in the land they came from, before they got underway once more, because they had a mission to complete and none of them wanted to disappoint the leaders of their clan, even if some had private objections to working with a clan of bandits.
Eventually they reached the city of Riften, after more time than what Capper was honestly expecting, as La'nari spotted the walled city long before they reached it and did what she could to make sure they were ready, though she was slightly surprised to find that the guards at the gate they approached were directing them to another gate. She told the others that Riften had three gates they could enter through, though one had been sealed off thanks to other bandits slaying far too many people in the past, which meant visitors could only use the southwest gate or the north gate. With that in mind Capper carefully moved them around the outer edge of the wall, which wasn't easy thanks to a rock wall that was close to the stone wall of the city, but in the end he got them around it and directed the wagon to their forced destination. He had a feeling that he knew what was going on right now, it seemed like the guards might have been paid off to direct people to one gate and were likely expecting an entry fee from everyone who dared to enter the city.
When they reached the north gate, stopping off to the left of it if one was approaching from the north, Capper brought the wagon to a stop so Azure could carry the crate into the city, before they found that one of the guards walked up to them, no doubt to stop them or to demand gold if Capper's guess was right.
"Hold there. Before I let any of you into Riften, to do whatever it is that you're here to do, each of you need to pay the visitor's tax." the guard stated, where it was clear that he was being greedy, as Capper was sure that he could have asked for a single payment, instead of asking for gold from all five of them, and now he could call the figure out and get them inside the city with ease.
"Sure, we could do that... however, we both know this is a shakedown." Capper replied, leaning forward as he said the last part, because while he wasn't sure how many people were in on this scheme he did know that it would be bad if too many people knew what was going on, even though for the time being they seemed to be the only visitors, so the guard didn't have to worry about the secret spreading too much.
For a few seconds the guard said nothing before lowering his voice as he told them to do the same, before indicating that he would allow them to come and go as they pleased, allowing them to enter Riften at last, where it was easy for them to see a number of people, mostly citizens by all of the casual attire, walking around. There was one person, a nord in steel armor, who was leaning against one of the pillars that was holding up the walkway or balcony of one of the buildings that was on their left, who took one look at them before nodding his head towards what appeared to be a market. That told Capper that he likely saw the four outfits that belonged to members of the Thieves Guild and likely assumed that they were members as well, meaning he was likely a lookout for the guild and that he would likely tell his superiors about them. In addition to that they found that there was a canal running around part of the city, creating the upper area that they were on and the lower area that had to be connected to the sewers, if such a thing existed in this world anyway.
As they walked, however, La'nari pointed out a nord that was dressed in fine clothing in the market, who seemed to be in the middle of closing his stall for the day, and she had the group stop for a moment as she walked over to him, where the figure seemed happy to see her again and chatted with her for a time, though it wasn't long before the pair returned and brought them to an area that was near the Dead Gate.
"So, you four are the newest recruits to join Brurid's clan? La'nari told me a bit about all of you." the nord, Brynjolf, stated, to which Capper nodded to Azure, who set the crate down so the thief could see what they had recovered, even though this was just the start of the items they had obtained from the nobles who didn't pay attention to their belongings, and he was pleased to see the smile on the man's face, as he pulled a necklace out, "Your haul is decent, I'll give you that... I'll be back with Tonilia, as she'll give you a fair price for all of these."
This was good news for Capper, as it meant that the mission might be a success, while at the same time Brynjolf walked over to a large stone coffin and tapped something that was out of sight, which caused it to move back silently and reveal a short passage down into the ground, a hidden passage that La'nari told them was only used by members of the guild. Since none of them were actual members they were forbidden from using it, as she knew there was some magic on the entrance that prevented non members from using this to enter the guild's hideout, causing Capper to nod his head, as it made sense when he thought about it. Fortunately they didn't have to wait too long for Brynjolf to return, and when he did he had a second thief with him, a female redguard who had to be Tonilia, a fence for the guild and likely a master at that, though she seemed to be less friendly than Brynjolf was, as she ignored the group as she investigated the loot. In addition to that there was one other person with them, a thief wearing a black version of the guild armor, likely to indicate that he was one of the highest ranking members of the entire guild, and Capper could tell he was a breton, though when La'nari stiffened he knew exactly who was in front of them.
This had turned out to be the worst case scenario, as this was Mercer Frey, the Guild Master for the Thieves Guild, and right now he seemed annoyed, no doubt because he had a group of thieves running around stealing stuff who weren't part of the actual guild and were trying to use some of their services as if they were members.
"Brynjolf said there were some new thieves in Riften... but if I'm being honest, I'm not impressed." Mercer said, which was to be expected from the Guild Master, who had years of experience and had likely stolen from the Jarls themselves in the past, so the jewelry and gems, which were likely a lower grade than he was used to, made him think they were small time thieves looking to make a quick bit of gold, "Are you sure that you robbed some nobles? Because these items look more like what you would get from a small time shop... not worth very much either."
"There's more where this came from, as the nobles had quite a lot in their wagon... which we stole, by the way," Capper stated, though he wasn't sure if Mercer was intentionally lowering the value of the items so the guild could make more in the end, since they seemed to be falling on hard times according to La'nari, or if he was in a bad mood right now and had no desire to allow thieves to operate in the guild's domain, "and let me assure you, the remainder of the loot is worth a fair bit of gold. We all want to make some gold, right? So why don't we make a deal and be on our way?"
"It is pretty bold of you to assume that you're in a position to make a deal." Mercer replied, showing them that he was of the opinion that he outranked nearly everyone in Riften, save for the Jarl and maybe a few officials, something Capper would have to ask about in the future, all while he approached the pillar that Capper had decided to lean against while they talked.
Capper chuckled a little as he withdrew one of the pure stones that they had taken from the vault that the Royal Sisters had allowed them to take a few things from, a vibrant blue sapphire that held no magical power, it was just an ordinary gem, which he handed to Tonilia as she approached them to look at it.
"A pure sapphire, the first of many gems we recovered from the foolish nobles." Capper said, because while he didn't want to give up such a gemstone, he knew it was necessary to show Mercer and his allies that they meant business, so by doing this, holding back an item of value and then showing it off, he could entice them with the potential of more riches.
Tonilia was sure she could get a good amount of gold from this gem on it's own, in fact she was willing to offer a thousand gold for it, which came as a surprise to Mercer and Brynjolf, though Capper nodded as the lady went about calculating the total price of everything that was inside the crate. While that happened Midnight and the others chatted with La'nari, likely on what supplies they needed from the shops so they could get to work once the gold was in their hands, though at the same time Capper discovered that one of the pouches on the back of Mercer's belt seemed like it hadn't been worked on, in the sense of maintenance, for quite some time. It didn't look like any of the thieves even knew how weak it was, since it picked that very moment to snap, somehow without making a sound, and even hit the ground without anyone realizing it had happened, causing him to smirk for a moment as he moved it behind the pillar with his foot, before returning to how the others had seen him previously. Eventually Tonilia handed over a sack of gold that she said was worth two thousand, which confirmed that some of the jewelry was a lower grade than Capper had been expecting, but he was happy to do business with them as the thieves had a few more come out to take the crate into the hideout, allowing him to hand over the sack to La'nari.
While the others went out to get the supplies for the clan, and the thieves went back into their hideout, Capper waited to be sure the coast was clear before collecting the pouch and opened it, discovering that there were a few expensive gems inside it, a hefty sack of gold, a letter about treasure being inside 'Angarvunde', and a brass key with a spherical end that seemed to be out of his world while still radiating power.
"What in the world is this?" Capper silently asked, as this was a rather curious find, especially since he wasn't expecting it to be in the hands of a Guild Master that was having trouble keeping his guild running, according to La'nari, and right now he didn't feel like returning it, especially since Mercer hadn't noticed it missing.
He really had no idea what this item was, other than it had to be an artifact of power, causing him to chuckle as he slipped it into his own pocket as he headed out to regroup with the others, because things were looking up and he was eager to see what else the rest of the day, and the week, had to offer him and his companions.